The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday it will not file charges against six USC students arrested during an off-campus party that brought the Los Angeles Police Department under fire for alleged racial profiling.
The students were arrested May 4 when at least 79 LAPD officers responded to a noise complaint for a party hosted by black students in the University Park Campus neighborhood.
Students said police used excessive force and "selective enforcement" in the caught-on-camera confrontation, because officers did not arrest anyone at a party hosted by white students that was held across the street the same night.
"After a complete review of this matter, the City Attorney’s Office has declined to file charges against the six individuals involved in this incident due to lack of sufficient evidence and no reasonable likelihood of conviction," City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said in a statement Wednesday.
The announcement comes nearly a month after Fred Dorton, the students' defense attorney, prematurely announced that charges against the students would be dropped. The City Attorney shot down those statements the same day and said the office needed to do more work before determining whether to file charges.
Since the May 4 incident, the LAPD launched investigations into several complaints of excessive force and racial profiling against officers who were involved in the confrontation.
"We will investigate those complaints vigorously," Los Angeles Police Lt. Andy Neiman said last month. "If there is a perception that something was done out of the ordinary or a perception of biased policing, we certainly want to address those concerns right away."
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