BEVERLY HILLS—During a unanimous vote on Friday, June 5, the Beverly Hills City Council ratified the local emergency declared on May 30.
Beverly Hills City Manager George Chavez, as Director of Emergency Services, enacted an 8 p.m. curfew along with the emergency declaration. The curfew lasted until 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 31, and was followed by subsequent curfews through June 4.
In the agenda report submitted to the city council, Policy and Management Analyst Cynthia Owens provided a summary of the recent events that occurred in the city. The city acknowledged the legitimacy of people’s right to protest, but highlighted the acts of violence seen during the last few days.
The resolution requested that the city “adopt a resolution ratifying the Director of Emergency Services’ proclamation of the existence of a local emergency due to the protests that occurred, and still may occur, in and around the City of Beverly Hills.”
Mayor Lester Friedman began the meeting talking about on the events that took place on Saturday in Beverly Hills.
He supported residents’ right to protest. He added that the city will work closely with the city police to reexamine police procedures in light of recent events. He said it was “devastating to see the damage across the city,” adding that curfews would be reenacted if “need be.”
Expenditures related to the emergency proclamation will be reported to the City Council at the next regular meeting. The resolution enable the City to “mobilize local resources, coordinate interagency response, accelerate procurement of supplies, use mutual aid, and seek future reimbursement from the state and federal governments related to the civil protests conducted due to the death of George Floyd.”
All members of the city council observed a moment of silence that lasted 8 minutes and 46 seconds (the amount of time George Floyd had his neck pinned to the ground) in memory of Floyd.
