BHPD Chief Mark Stainbrook will retire on June 26. (photo courtesy of the city of Beverly Hills)

Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook announced on May 8 that he will retire from the department, effective June 26.

Stainbrook joined the Beverly Hills Police Department in November 2021 from the Port of San Diego where he served as chief since 2018. Stainbrook replaced interim chief Dominick Rivetti in 2021 after former BHPD Chief Sandra Spagnoli retired amid a wave of misconduct lawsuits and settlements that cost the city millions of dollars.

Stainbrook is a 30-year law enforcement veteran, graduate of the FBI National Academy and a retired lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. In 2025, he was awarded the Joe Malloy Award by the California Police Chiefs Association, which is their highest annual award given to the top police chief in the state, though his tenure also included several controversies.

“On behalf of the City Council and Beverly Hills community, I’d like to thank chief Stainbrook for his leadership in moving the department forward,” City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey said in a statement. “During the chief’s tenure, the department became a national model for use of advanced police technologies and has successfully reduced crime in several key categories. We recognize chief Stainbrook for his three decades of dedicated public service.”

Stainbrook helped to transform the BHPD into a global leader in law enforcement technology and tactics, the city said. Over 500 local, state, federal and international agencies have visited the department’s Real Time Watch Center. The RTWC is comprised of 3,500 cameras, 120 automated license plate readers and multiple drones. According to the city, since the inception of the RTWC, crime in Beverly Hills has dropped 34% and arrests have increased 22%. Stainbrook’s tenure has focused on leveraging technology and proactive policing while maintaining strong community support in a high-profile city, the city said.

“The opportunity to lead the Beverly Hills Police Department has been the highlight of my professional career,” Stainbrook said in a statement.  “I am grateful to the men and women of the department and members of the community as we all worked together to ensure Beverly Hills remains one of the safest cities in the nation.”

In June 2025, the Beverly Hills Police Officers Association issued a vote of no confidence in Stainbrook, citing concerns over his leadership. Stainbrook was subsequently accused of taking retaliatory, defamatory and unlawful actions against BHPOA President Christian Bond following the vote, prompting a cease and desist letter from the union. The union accused Stainbrook of “circulating false rumors and defamatory statements” about Bond and attempting to interfere with Bond’s potential employment opportunity. The union also alleged that Stainbrook’s conduct created a hostile work environment and that his actions “had a chilling effect on the willingness of POA members to engage in protected labor activity.”

Additionally, BHPD sgt. William Fair filed a claim for damages against the city in 2025, alleging several unlawful labor violations by supervisors in the police department. The allegations include harassment, retaliation and infliction of emotional distress. Fair alleged that Stainbrook wrongfully demoted him from police lieutenant to police sergeant after Fair disclosed antisemitic and racist comments made by his supervisors.

Hunt-Coffey is expected to name an interim police chief in the coming weeks.