Spagnoli resigns amid discrimination lawsuits

Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli will retire from the department effective May 15, after a multitude of lawsuits against her that have cost the City of Beverly Hills over $7 million in settlement and legal fees.

The city has faced an array of discrimination lawsuits against Spagnoli since she was first hired in 2016, including allegations of denied promotions, sexual harassment and workplace retaliation. It has denied the lawsuits’ claims and paid at least $7.8 million in relation to the cases.

Several law enforcement officers said Spagnoli was given until April 24 to resign or be fired earlier this week, according to a NBC Los Angeles report.

“I am grateful to have served Beverly Hills and proud of the accomplishments over the past four years to keep this world class community one of the safest in the nation,” Spagnoli said in a statement.

Four lawsuits against Spagnoli are still on-going, including one filed in late March that could have influenced the decision for her early retirement. In it, Sergeant Scott Dibble alleges he was wrongfully placed on work leave in retaliation to a previous lawsuit he had settled in 2019. The settled lawsuit claimed Spagnoli had sent him sexually inappropriate text messages and denied him a promotion for not reciprocating her advances.

Vera Markowitz, who spearheaded the “BHPD Crisis Group” that advocated for the resignation or firing of the now-retiring Chief, said she had been hopeful Spagnoli would leave for four years.

“I think the last lawsuit is what precipitated her demise and her deciding to leave,” Markowitz said.

Markowitz’s activism against the chief has garnered controversy from Spagnoli’s supporters in the past, including from the City Council.

She received a subpoena from the city in 2019 asking her to release all her records from the prior seven years to be seen in relation to a lawsuit against Spagnoli. She said she addressed the cases, but the subpoena was so broad the judge threw it out and fined the city for subpoenaing.

City Manager George Chavez will be announcing an interim police chief in the coming weeks, as the city begins the process of looking for Spagnoli’s replacement. Markowitz said she hopes someone from within the Beverly Hills community is hired for the position.

“I think that part of the problem was that she really did not know neither the department nor the community when she arrived,” Markowitz said.

Chavez said crime was reduced while the department increased diversity, public outreach, best practices and advancements in technology under Spagnoli’s tenure.

“We thank Chief Spagnoli for her service to our community and her three decades of public service in law enforcement,” he said.