Coalition of Students, Clergy, Labor, and Community Groups Send Letter to LA County District Attorney Demanding an Immediate and Comprehensive Investigation of USC Police Department

The letter to County District Attorney George Gascón calls attention to USC’s track-record of hiring officers with past allegations of excessive force and racial discrimination and demands a full-scale investigation of civil suits filed against the USC Police Department, allegations of serious officer misconduct, use of excessive force, and racial profiling.

LOS ANGELES – On the heels of a guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, and the growing nationwide momentum to reimagine public safety, the USC Forward Coalition is calling on recently elected LA County District Attorney George Gascón to open a comprehensive investigation into USC Police Department.

The letter to D.A. Gascon arrives just two months after the USC Forward Coalition released its groundbreaking report exposing the USC Police Department’s track-record of hiring former LAPD officers with a history of excessive force and racial discrimination allegations, credibility and dishonesty issues, and officer-involved shootings. The exposé highlights five USC police officers with a record of documented misconduct allegations and officer-involved shootings and draws a cloud of suspicion over the entire USC Police Department.

The demand for the investigation is the latest action by the USC Forward Coalition to end the USC Police Department’s detrimental impact on the University’s neighbors in South Los Angeles, and residents near USC’s satellite facilities in East Los Angeles. In addition, they’re calling on the University to abolish its Police Department and reinvest that budget to expand accessibility and affordability for South Los Angeles and East Los Angeles low-income students