On Friday, May 3rd, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a student party of mostly African-American and Hispanic students with at least 79 police officers dressed in full riot gear. Students allege that LAPD used excessive force to dismantle a peaceful gathering, which resulted in six student arrests without provocation.
Student lies face down on the ground as she is arrested by LAPD on May 3, 2013.
Across the street from the mainly minority attended party was a party in similar size and noise level. However, according to students, LAPD’s response differed significantly because these students were Caucasian. These students were told to remain inside and continue as they were.
Outraged by LAPD’s use of excessive force, comments, and protocol, students took to social media to expose the large amounts of racial profiling allegedly exhibited – ultimately resulting in the #USChangeMovement.
Saturday morning, various social media platforms were flooded with videos, tweets, photos, and blog posts detailing personal accounts of the nights events.
The video below quickly went viral, gathering more and more media attention.
Other Student Posts and Personal Accounts
I’m a Scholar, Not a Criminal: The Plight of Black Students at USC
“My issue lies within the selective surveillance of minority-hosted parties, as if crimes only happen among high concentrations of melanin,” said senior Makiah Green in her post “I’m a Scholar, Not a Criminal: The Plight of Black Students at USC.”
Enraged by the incident, hundreds of students, alumni, faculty, parents, and community members gathered for a sit-in on Monday to speak out against racial profiling, inequality at USC, and the marginalization of students.
Students of all demographics shared moments of when they witnessed inequality during their tenure at USC. Stories ranged from moments when the validity of their USC ids were challenged to being allowed access because they “didn’t look like a terrorist.”
By Monday evening, the student’s efforts had been recognized by national news organizations as well as administrators.
“We understand their concern and are working closely with them, and commit ourselves to doing all we can to ensure respectful treatment of students at peaceful social gatherings,” said Michael Jackson, Vice President of Student Affairs.
“We hope the investigation will address our concerns and those of students involved,” said John Thomas, Chief of Campus Police. “We are in constant communication with senior officers at the LAPD as they discuss solutions to ensure that the response of LAPD to complaints about student parties is properly calibrated.”
Regardless of the statements, students were still looking for answers and more support from USC administrators, specifically from President C.L. Max Nikias. Minority students say authorities have been extra vigilant in dealing with them since a shooting last Halloween. Officers have been shutting down parties hosted by minority students, and ignoring parties hosted by other communities.
Open Forum
Students, faculty, alumni, and community members were encouraged to attend an open forum to discuss racial profiling, and solutions with LAPD and DPS. Audience members took to the mic to air out their questions, comments, concerns, and grievances to a panel that included Captain Paul Snell of the Southwest Division of the LAPD, Chief John Thomas of DPS, Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Jackson, Fransisco Ortega of the Human Rights Commission, senior Rikiesha Pierce, Inspector General Alex Bustamante, Commander Bill Scott, and Deputy Chief Bob Green.
The forum reached capacity right before the event began at 6pm. Eager students, faculty, and community students gathered into the Ronald Tutor Ballroom in the hopes of getting some answers to many very hard questions.
During the forum, LAPD said they have opened an internal investigation into the use of excessive force, however in front of almost a thousand people, the officers said they have concluded that Friday’s arrests were not based on race at all.
“We’ve looked at this really thoroughly, and there is no indication that it was race-based,” Los Angeles Police Capt. Paul Snell said Tuesday night. “Irrespective of what happened, what I would like to focus on is how we can move forward. Neither LAPD, neither DPS, neither the citizens of Los Angeles want this to happen again.”
Authorities at the panel said “we can not fix things we don’t know about.” They encouraged all students who may have witnessed something on the night of the incident to call and report what they saw at (800) 339-6868.
President C.L. Max Nikias and other statements
Many students were disheartened that President Nikias failed to attend the forum. However, President Nikias finally released a statement Wednesday afternoon, five days too late in the eyes of many students.
Despite the lack of support students may have felt on campus, they have been receiving a sweeping number of endorsements from local political leaders.
“Questions of fairness and equal treatment are glaring and must be answered,” said Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Chair of the Public Safety Subcommittee and whose district includes USC. “I support the City of Los Angeles’ Inspector General’s office to fully investigate the actions of the officers involved, and I will be following up with the university and LAPD officials regarding the status of the six students that were detained, and all others as needed.”
Additionally Congresswoman Karen Bass released the following statement on the recent arrests and allegations.
“I’m deeply troubled by the very serious allegations made by several African American students with regards to their treatment by LAPD police officers during this off campus party. Since the incident happened, my office has been in contact with students, USC and LAPD officials to gather as many of the facts as possible and urging continued cooperation in addressing the allegations made by African American students who felt they were profiled. I commend USC for their responsiveness in making sure students have had a venue to make their voices heard, as was evidenced by the recent town hall where over 1,000 students and alumni turned out. I’m also encouraged the LAPD has launched an internal investigation and commend them for their willingness in participating in a constructive dialogue to address the concerns of students. I will continue to monitor this situation and look forward to the findings from the LAPD investigation for any light they may shed on how we can best manage these situations going forward to ensure the safety of our students.”
Moving Forward
At the conclusion of the forum, senior Jason Sneed asked the crowd “what is so different about this situation than anything else?”
Sneed detailed a life filled with racial profiling as a Los Angeles native. He challenged his fellow students to look outside of USC to notice the inequalities that have been happening to minority residents for years.
He challenged LAPD to get to know the community and engage in a dialogue with young students in the area over a game of basketball. He offered it as a suggestion that he hopes the authorities will take him up on, in order to change the community’s perception of the police.
Speak Your Mind