Five University of Southern California students arrested at an off-campus party by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2013 are to receive a settlement after the African American party-goers said they received a far harsher crackdown than those at a party attended by mostly white students right across the street.
A federal jury ruled Thursday that LAPD officers acted with malice and violated the students' constitutional rights when at least 79 officers responded to the house party at 23rd and Hoover streets, seven blocks north of USC, for a noise complaint on May 4, 2013, according to the students' attorney Fred Dorton.
In the caught-on-camera confrontations, students said officers used excessive force breaking up the party attended by mostly African-American students but failed to arrest anyone at a party hosted by white students across the street.
At the raucous party, students were celebrating the end of finals week, the students said in an earlier report.
Nate Howard, a USC senior who helped host the party, said he was handcuffed and pushed against the wall before he was placed in a squad car. He said he had just asked what was going on.
"There was no reason for me to be handcuffed, pushed the way I was," he said in an earlier report. "We were just having a good time."
Howard said the "battle of the DJs" party had a permit. About 79 officers lined up in the street wearing helmets and holding batons before they broke up the party at 2 a.m. as seen on a video posted to YouTube.
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The LAPD launched an investigation into the incident after students complained of excessive force and racial profiling.
On Friday, the City of LA and students reached a deal before the case could enter the punitive phase, Dorton said. After the settlement announcement, the Los Angeles City Council would have to approve the payout.
Dorton did not reveal the settlement amount.
