Beverly Hills under fire after ‘racial’ incident

By Stephen Oduntan

Contributing Writer

BEVERLY HILLS — Civil rights attorneys and community leaders are calling on the state attorney general to open an independent investigation into the Beverly Hills Police Department, claiming that a recent incident involving NBA All-Star Jaylen Brown reflects longstanding allegations of racial profiling in the city.

Speaking at a press conference Feb. 21, attorney Bradley Gage of Brad Gage Law said Brown’s experience fits a pattern his firm has challenged in court for years.

“What happened to Jaylen Brown is what’s happened for years in the city of Beverly Hills,” Gage said. “We have two different class-action lawsuits against the city for targeting African Americans for driving while Black, walking while Black.”

Gage said one lawsuit includes more than 1,000 African Americans who were arrested or detained over several years, with only a small fraction facing charges. A second lawsuit filed with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, he said, involves roughly 1,300 additional individuals alleging similar treatment.

“In a city that has less than 2% Black population, over 90% of people arrested during one period were Black,” Gage said. “That is an outrageous number. It demonstrates clear racial profiling.”

The Beverly Hills Police Department did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

The renewed scrutiny follows reports that Jaylen Brown, a Boston Celtics star, was told he needed a permit for a private gathering at a Beverly Hills home during the recent NBA All Star weekend.

The event was being held Feb. 14 at the home of Jim Jannard, the founder of Oakley, a company known for its sports apparel and sunglasses, to promote Brown’s Oakley performance brand. The event was a private, invitation only affair that was supposed to include panel discussions and an after-party.

Police arrived at about 7 p.m. to shut down the event without discussing the situation with Jannard or Brown.

The city later issued an apology, citing inaccurate information.

“Upon further internal review, the city has determined that its prior public communication contained inaccurate information,” Beverly Hills officials wrote in a statement on Instagram Feb. 19. “Specifically, no permit application was submitted nor denied for the event and the residence does not have any prior related violations on record.

“The city takes full accountability for the internal error that resulted in the inaccurate statement being distributed and is working to ensure it does not happen again.”

Brown said the incident embarrassed him and embarrassed his brand and is considering legal action.

Gage said the incident underscores the need for broader reforms.

“Racial profiling is dangerous, it’s hurtful, and it’s unnecessary,” he said. “It’s wrong.”

Civil rights activist Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope, said community members are urging Attorney General Rob Bonta to intervene.

“This morning we sent Attorney General Rob Bonta a letter calling for an independent investigation into the Beverly Hills Police Department to help stop racial profiling,” Ali said.

Ali sharply criticized the department’s record.

“The Beverly Hills Police Department, in my opinion, is one of the most racist police departments in this nation,” he said, adding that Brown’s experience reflects what many Black residents and visitors have faced for years.

Ali said public pressure and legal action are both necessary to force change.

“Change will come when we come together collectively to demand justice,” he said. “Often money talks, and lawsuits can force departments to change when doing business as usual becomes too expensive.”

He also called for a broad coalition of community groups and voters to push for accountability, saying racial profiling harms not only individuals but the broader community.

“Treating people differently based on the color of their skin or national origin is unconstitutional,” Ali said. “We’re stronger together than we are against each other.”

Stephen Oduntan is a freelance writer for Wave Newspapers.