'Beverly Hills while Black': Race, wealth, policing collide on Rodeo Drive
Salehe Bembury was walking away from the Versace boutique on Rodeo Drive last fall when a Beverly Hills police officer stopped him for jaywalking, told him to put his hands behind his back and asked if he was carrying a weapon.
"Don't want to mess up those shoes; those are pretty nice," the officer remarked as he asked Bembury to spread his feet and patted him down, body camera footage released by the Beverly Hills Police Department shows.
The young Black man being frisked hadn't just been shopping at the luxury store. He was then the vice president of sneakers and men's footwear for Versace.
As he was being searched, Bembury said that he had designed the shoes in his shopping bag. He told the officers they were scaring him because of "the climate that we're in," then started recording on his cellphone.
"I'm getting f— searched for shopping at the store I work for and just being Black," Bembury said into the camera, holding up the Versace bag.
Bembury captioned his video on Instagram: "BEVERLY HILLS WHILE BLACK. I'M OK, MY SPIRIT
