Attorney Bradley C. Gage, right, flanked by attorney Ben Crump, said they have spoken to two LAPD officers who believe they were racially profiled and pulled over in Beverly Hills. (photo courtesy of Bradley C. Gage)

A lawsuit against the city of Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hills Police Department alleging officers racially profiled Black citizens is headed for trial after an Oct. 16 mediation session did not result in a settlement.

Attorneys Bradley C. Gage and Ben Crump filed the class action lawsuit on Aug. 30, 2021, on behalf of plaintiffs Khalil White and Jasmine Williams, and it now includes 1,086 plaintiffs who claim they were profiled and discriminated against by the BHPD. Crump and Gage held a press conference in Beverly Hills on Oct. 13 to announce new details of the lawsuit. They stated that they have testimony from two Black LAPD officers who were driving unmarked police cars in Beverly Hills on separate occasions and were pulled over after allegedly being profiled.

“They were in Crown Victoria police cars with exempt plates,” Gage said. “One of them had a gun pulled on him and he was terrified.”

In the lawsuit, Gage and Crump allege that from August 2019 to August 2021, 1,088 Black people were arrested by the Beverly Hills Police Department, but only two of the arrests resulted in convictions. The lawsuit seeks $500 million in damages.

The testimony of the two LAPD officers was added to the lawsuit as witness statements. The incidents allegedly occurred in 2013. Gage said the officers are not part of the current lawsuit but wanted to provide information about their experiences. He said he hopes the lawsuit will end what he described as systematic racial profiling in Beverly Hills that has been occurring for years.

“The city has engaged in racial profiling going back to the 1980s,” Gage said. “It’s been a longstanding problem that’s getting worse.”

The city of Beverly Hills denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

“The city of Beverly Hills continues to vigorously defend this case and denies the characterizations of the facts and evidence presented,” read a statement from the city. “Beverly Hills is an international destination that welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world. The role of the Beverly Hills Police Department is to enforce the law, regardless of race. The city looks forward to presenting its case in court.”

No hearings have been set. Gage expects the lawsuit to go to trial next year, possibly in April.