'I Literally Designed The Shoes In This Bag': Black Versace Exec Says He Was Racially Profiled In Beverly Hills
Police officials say Bembury was jaywalking and officers didn't not stop him for racially motivated reasons.
October 10, 2020 at 1:48 am
A Black fashion executive said he was unjustly stopped and searched in Beverly Hills, California by police while walking across a street in the city’s luxury fashion district.
According to CNN, Salehe Bembury, vice president of men’s footwear for Versace, said he was racially profiled by BHPD officers as he left the popular shopping spot that houses the Versace store.
From body camera footage released by the police department Friday, an officer is shown approaching Bembury, asking why he crossed a street while checking his phone.
Bembury responds that he was catching his bearings and admits that he jaywalked. When the officer asks for Bembury to present his ID, he also questions whether or not the fashion executive has any weapons on him.
“No, I don’t. I’m like super nervous because I was just going to my car,” the man said.
The officer then asks Bembury to put his hands behind his back, while he conducts a search of his person. The Versace executive agrees but says that he feels embarrassed.
"What's unfortunate is like, I literally designed the shoes that are in this bag," Bembury said in the video.