Media Advisory for Thurs., Feb. 11, 2021 — ‘Abolish the USC Police’ Car Caravan

COALITION OF STUDENTS, CLERGY, LABOR AND COMMUNITY GROUPS TO CARAVAN TO USC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO DEMAND THE ABOLISHMENT OF USC POLICE FORCE; UNVEIL NEW REPORT EXPOSING UNIVERSITY’S TRACK-RECORD OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS WITH PAST ALLEGATIONS OF EXCESSIVE FORCE AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Hundreds to Caravan and Hold Press Conference Calling on the University to Abolish the USC Police Force After Decades of Racial Profiling in Neighboring Communities, and for the University’s Hiring Practices of Incompetent Police Officers; Calling on USC to Reallocate Policing Funds to Expand Scholarships to Low Income Students

LOS ANGELES, CA – Students, community members, clergy, and labor allies will lead a car caravan through South Los Angeles to the USC Department of Public Safety (USC-DPS) to hold a press conference demanding the university take immediate steps to abolish the USC police force and reinvest those funds in expanding scholarships for low-income students.

The planned caravan will culminate in a press conference unveiling a new report from USC Forward that exposes USC-DPS’ pattern of hiring former LAPD officers with a history of excessive force and racial discrimination allegations, credibility and dishonesty issues, and officer-involved shootings. The most glaring example includes the hiring of LAPD Sergeant Peter Foster, who was at the center of a $1.2 million lawsuit stemming from racist behavior and pranks, alleging, among other things, that Foster gifted a Black officer a cake topped with fried chicken and a slice of watermelon.

The coalition, led by ACCE, Eastside LEADS, Legacy LA, USC Forward, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, is specifically calling on the University to reallocate $50 million from the current USC DPS budget to fund scholarships for 2,000 LAUSD students in the USC Nexus area, and to work with community leaders to develop an affordable housing land trust.

WHAT:            Car caravan and press conference highlighting USC’s track record of hiring incompetent police officers and calling on the University to abolish police force.

WHEN:            Thursday, February 11th at 11:00 AM

WHERE:         Intersection of Hoover Street and W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90089

WHO:              ACCE, Eastside LEADS, Legacy LA, USC Forward, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

VISUALS:       Cars decorated with signs and flags, banners featuring coalition demands, and oversized images of USC police officers named in the report.

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Contact: Roxane Marquez, 213-705-1078

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