Students irate at slow alert time of DPS
Students expressed outrage that Dept. of Public Safety took 36 hours to send out a crime alert after two USC students were shot early Sunday morning outside of a party at an apartment complex at 1241 West 37th Place.
Crime · The suspect fired a gun at the victims after the suspect was accused of stealing a pair of headphones from the male victim. - Photo courtesy of Timo Yates
A male undergraduate student was shot in the chest and a female graduate student was shot in the hand and suffered a bloody finger, said Capt. Melissa Zak of LAPD’s Southwest Division.
Students, including those who live near the apartment complex, were angered that DPS did not send out a Trojans Alert.
“Students’ safety should come first,” said Sullivan Brown, a junior majoring in animation and digital art who lives on the 1200 block of West 37th Place. “DPS should have texted us as soon as the incident occurred, especially those people who live on the west side of campus.”
After consulting with LAPD, DPS chose not to issue a Trojans Alert because it determined the community was not in any immediate danger and the suspect was no longer at large.
“The two or maybe three suspects [involved in the incident] immediately left the scene and walked away,” DPS Chief Carey Drayton said. “It was determined that there was not an ongoing threat and people didn’t need to do anything special. We didn’t need anybody to hunker down because we had police canvassing the entire area looking for witnesses at the time.”
The shooting occurred when the suspect was accused of having stolen a pair of expensive headphones. The female victim attempted to help settle the altercation between the male victim and the suspect, according to Gueston Cordae Smith, a sophomore majoring in architecture who attended the party.
“We were dancing and having a good time, and all of a sudden the [male] victim turned on the lights and was acting really angry,” Smith said. “[The male victim] said that his headphones were stolen … and then walked up to the shooter.”
In response to the accusation, the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired a round at the victims going through the female victim’s hand before hitting the male victim’s chest, according to Sgt. Will Smith of LAPD’s Southwest division.
“An argument came up and, not even a minute later, the [shooter] pulled out a gun,” Gueston Cordae Smith said. “I saw that gun in his hand, so I grabbed two of the girls who were with me and just ran out. As soon as I was running down the hall, I heard a gunshot.”
If the bullet had not first gone through the female victim’s hand, the bullet probably would have killed the male victim, Zak said.
Both victims were immediately taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where the male victim was listed in critical but stable condition and underwent surgery Sunday morning, Sgt. Smith said.
The female victim is in “OK” condition, according to the Dept. of Public Safety on Sunday. She underwent surgery Sunday night on her hand, Zak said.
Both victims are expected to make a full recovery, said Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Jackson.
The suspect is a black male who is believed to be 6-foot-3 and weigh 180 pounds. He is also described as having protruding front teeth, a tattoo across his chest with a cross and unidentifiable tattoos on his biceps.
Students were also concerned that DPS did not send out a Crime Alert until 36 hours after the incident occurred.
Under the Clery Act, passed in 2007 in wake of the Virginia Tech shooting, universities are required to issue Crime Alerts when the community should be aware of a crime or crimes that have occurred in a specific geographic location. The Crime Alert is also required to provide tips to prevent members of the community from being victimized by the suspect or suspects.
DPS decided not to release a Crime Alert until it had a more accurate description of the suspect to ensure that people were not incorrectly profiled as a suspect. They also needed permission from LAPD and the FBI to release more specific details regarding the shooting.
“A Crime Alert was not issued right away because we have found in the past that non-specific descriptions can be offensive to groups of people because they inappropriately become suspects,” Drayton said. “The delay in the Crime Alert was a delay to get the right information, a more laser-focused description, and the approval of [LAPD and the FBI] to release more specifics.”
In the coming weeks DPS will review its process of informing members of the community about crimes in the area, Drayton said.
“There needs to be a real conversation between students, faculty, parents and staff about the insatiable desire to receive news and the legal requirements and obligations [DPS has] to protect the community,” Drayton said.
Police interviewed witnesses at the party and have begun searching for the suspect. Police performed a comprehensive search of the premises Sunday afternoon and found the headphones in question.
An investigation into the shooting includes members of LAPD, DPS, the FBI and members of the South Bureau’s Criminal Gang/Homicide Division, according to Sgt. Smith.
Although the handgun has not been found, LAPD is currently following several solid leads, Zak said.
Here’s the problem:
“A Crime Alert was not issued right away because we have found in the past that non-specific descriptions can be offensive to groups of people because they inappropriately become suspects,”
So it was political correctness that prevented a Trojan Alert? The African population surrounding USC needs to be afraid of DPS, NOT the other way around. This has to be Carey Drayton’s last month of employment at USC.
This comment sounds like it could have been made in Birmingham in the 1960s. You should be really proud of yourself.
Why are students living in an area west of campus well known for its unsafe neighborhoods? We’re talking drive by shootings type of neighbohoods.
The reason is simple, while USC has quickly increased the size of its student body-in one year alone, we went from 32k or so students to 38k or so this year–AN INCREASE OF OVER 20%, the university has failed to offer the proper and necessary infrastructure to support this massive increase in students. Instead of taking responsiblity for our students, the Administration: Max Nikias, has allowed outside investors to build apts in choice areas(University Gateway, Tuscany, West 27th) that pamper few students while the less well-healed are are forced to move into areas where they have no business living: west of Vermont.
Where is Max Nikias during all of this? He is off on a Chinese junket wooing a government and its institutions that hang common criminals, put dissentors in jail, censor citizens’ rights to the freedoms we all cherish, and don’t seem to hold dear the same values that define us as a nation. A dubious partner to say the least. Yet, Max is determined to make them an integral part of USC. Really?
Why is Max off in China instead of minding the school he is in charge of? MONEY, of course. The same reason he admits 6K new students this year without providing for them–tuition Money. More students equals much more money to spend on increasing the prestige of USC. But, before we do this, let’s consider the source of this money and above all, let’s take care of all of our students and provide safe places to eat , study, and sleep–this is a basic right–that USC seems to be failing miserably at. Come home, Max. We need you more than the Chinese do.
I live in the building where this happened. I was away when it occurred and had to hear about it the next morning via a text from my roommate, then looked it up on the news. Honestly, I’m not too upset with DPS. I think the guys were stupid to present such a blatant opportunity for crime, getting wasted and letting tons of people wander in and out of our building, which is normally pretty secure. It’s also the nicest on the block and I know that it was an easy target. USC’s late response made me a little ticked off, but let’s be honest, non-university housing is not their responsibility, the students are. They do a lot to prevent crime in this neighborhood. I’m more upset with my building’s management, Stuho Housing, for not notifying us, talking to us, putting up any signs, increasing any security, and basically acting like this didn’t happen. In fact when I returned from my trip on Monday, our gate was wide open because it broke (probably from all the commotion with the news crews and stuff). Don’t go Stuho! They’re totally incompetent. I’d move if someone getting shot was a valid excuse to break a lease in their eyes.
I think there are plenty of areas in which DPS could improve, but I fail to see why students are “outraged” by the department’s response to this particular incident. I completely agree with the decision not to issue a Trojan Alert for the shooting. What good would it have done? There’s no evidence to suggest that this shooter was on some sort of wider rampage. He wanted to steal from some students, they resisted, and the shooter responded out of anger. Everything suggests that this was an isolated incident. Sending out a Trojan Alert saying something along the lines of, “There was a shooting off campus. Someone with a gun may still be in the vicinity,” would only cause mass panic. There are plenty of potentially dangerous people in these neighborhoods (as with all big cities). And, I’d be willing to bet that this shooter isn’t the first person to carry a gun nearby campus. Students should always exercise caution and common sense, even when not directed to by a Trojan Alert.
In the case of Virginia Tech, there was a shooter going through campus with a mission to kill students, forcing them to take extraordinary preventative measures (i.e. lock yourself in a room or flee from campus). The Cleary Act was meant to help alert students that they needed to take unusual protective steps by providing them with the necessary intel. The most recent USC shooting didn’t require any monumental action from students other than what they’re supposed to do every day: be safe, don’t fight with thieves, don’t let strangers into your house, etc.
So many students like to think that they’re adults now. Well, most adult communities don’t have a text alert system to direct your attention to every potential threat. We’re all smart people, and I think we should make a little more effort to be safety smart as well. What happened to these students is tragic, and we should look to our entire community (not just DPS) to prevent something like this from happening again.
It’d be nice if we knew why the hell FBI is involved. Any speculations, DT?
DPS&USC Fail, again!!!
USC’s 2010 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report provides, in part, as follows:
USC shall make timely reports to the campus community as required by the Clery Act on crimes considered a serious or continuing threat to students or employees in the judgment of the Chief of Public Safety…The warning will be issued through any means appropriate, including the university email system, emergency notification system, posted fliers, or on the DPS website http://capsnet.usc.edu/DPS
A SERIOUS and continuing THREAT existed when multiple suspects FLED the scene of a VIOLENT crime in which two students were SHOT.
USC’s Chief of Public Safety, Carey Drayton, must be held to account for his serious lapse of judgment!
Stuart,
You are confusing Crime Alerts and Trojans Alerts. A Trojans Alert is the one that goes out via text when there is an immediate threat. Police got there and found the suspects were not anywhere in the area, so no immediate threat. A Crime Alert is what they send out via e-mail to comply with the Cleary Act. The article states one was sent out as soon as USC was authorized to put decent suspect info in there.
I guess I’m missing something here… To echo Stuart’s point, how is it that someone shoots 2 USC students and because when the police arrive the suspect has fled the crime scene, there is “no immediate threat”? If they got there, disarmed and cuffed him, there’s no threat. The fact that this person could have broken into a nearby apartment to hide out seems somewhat threatening to me. With all due respect, while you may know the difference between Crime Alerts and Trojan Alerts, there seems to be a disconnect between common scence and covering ones posterior. I personally would want to know that someone was shot a block away when I hear someone knocking on my door to deliver an unordered pizza at 2am.
Sure, he could have broken into an apartment. He also could have gone straight to LAX and bought a ticket to Moscow. Police searched the area and didn’t find any evidence he was still in the area. Nor did they find any broken down doors as far as we know. No additional incidents occurred, so it looks like the police made the right call that it was safe after they got there.
I hope you were not planning on opening the door at 2am for someone you don’t know regardless where you live. Whether or not you were aware of a crime down the road, I would hope you would use that common sense.
Knows the Difference: Don’t complicate or confuse the issue. The Clery Act requires that institutions provide students and employees with timely warnings of crimes that represent a threat to their safety. They knew full well that when they drafted the Clery Act that any crime alert would be deficient and that students and their parents might be anxious or terrified. Nevertheless, they enacted the policy and once again, USC failed to make a notification in a timely manner.
To voice out your concern….Concerned Parent….. After my first year here it was clear to see that most of these “criminals” intent is to get any little thing out of the students but NOT to harm them. USC is not just another university, it is a community within a community. Many of these “criminals” know their in and outs of it and USC staff knows that. What else could have been done? This guy who fled was not going to go stab someone else or wait around for another victim. I haven’t heard of them doing that before?!
If you pay attention, most of the Tragic accidents are self inflicted and others could have been prevented by the student alone. There is so much we can do if we work together but instead we choose to fight.
I came here to learn and be challenged by the amazing faculty. I have loved every minute of it and I am enjoying all the great events USC has to offer. My parents taught me to be a responsible individual. A responsible UNIVERSITY student and I don’t expect any different from any of my classmates. If your child cannot handle any “peer pressure” than I think that students is not mentally prepared to be here.
Thanks for clarifying this.
These ‘open community’ parties will never end. Many of these crimes can be prevented, but hey! What college student doesn’t get f@3ed up!, or walk alone through isolated areas when there are other options etc. Let’s keep pointing fingers and see how much this will help solve the core of these problems.
As a student, I’m ashamed to see students my age and older act a fool! with hardly any common sense! Lets see how many young men/ladies will wake up naked, overdosed and doing the walk of shame. Lets see how many of them and their parents will start blaming others instead of taking responsibility for their own actions!
I have seen the hard work and dedication of all these “babysiting” departments. It’s a lot of work.
College years can be so memorable…. and yet we decide to make them a traumatic experience.
As a concerned parent of a USC student who lives in the area of this shooting, I am outraged by failure of USC authorities to issue a Trojan Alert in accordance with the provisions of the Cleary Act. The DPS cannot contend that a Crime Alert was unwarranted because the suspects fled the scene and it could not provide accurate descriptions of them. Simply put, suspects involved in a violent shooting of two USC students were at large in a neighborhood populated by students. How anyone can argue that is not cause to issue a Crime Alert is completely beyond me.
Stay out of our business Stuart. Don’t you have more important things to do then “helicopter” over campus?
@Stuart
On behalf of fraternity boys at USC who know when it’s proper to use the word “than” instead of “then”, I must apologize for the above comment and say that I agree with you completely. I’ve read the Clery Act, and as an SC law student, I do not see how the legal obligation to provide the community with an alert is contingent on whether or not an accurate description of the suspect can be provided. And to those who claim to know with certainty that the suspect fled the area and was no longer an immediate danger to the community (Apparently, they knew the suspect’s whereabouts, could read his mind and know his intentions?), I find that position untenable, ignorant, and very, very reckless. Law enforcement should always err on the side of caution. DPS is simply using that as a scapegoat to deflect criticism and a possible lawsuit for their remarkable incompetence. How corrupt of them.
Incidentally, just last semester, I was handcuffed by DPS officers in the middle of campus two days in a row because I allegedly fit the profile of a suspect they were looking for (Apparently, the description was for a 6′ tall, blonde, white male, wearing a USC shirt and carrying a Macbook…). After checking my identification and determining that I was not in fact who they were looking for, I was advised to AVOID CAMPUS–including not attending classes–until the suspect was apprehended in order to prevent being detained again. THIS is the caliber of genius we are dealing with here.
How corrupt of them?… Lol what are you talking about…? I have video of hundreds of USC students rioting vs LAPD…I think the students are still good people. Don’t paint with such a large brush young man you might get some on yourself.