NBC Los Angeles – The LAPD has launched investigations into several complaints of excessive force and racial profiling against officers involved in a weekend confrontation with mostly black and Latino students in an incident captured on YouTube.
Los Angeles Police Lt. Andy Neiman, a department spokesman, confirmed the internal investigations to NBC4 on Monday.
The cases are being launched in connection with a confrontation that happened overnight Friday at a party hosted by black USC students celebrating the end of finals week.
Nate Howard, a USC senior, one of the party hosts, said he was handcuffed, pushed against the wall and put into the back of a squad car after he asked officers what was going on.
“There was no reason for me to be handcuffed, pushed the way I was,” he said. “We were just having a good time.”
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Police were called out to the house party at 23rd and Hoover streets, seven blocks north of USC, due to complaints in the community about noise, Neiman said.
The party featured a battle of DJs in the backyard, Howard said.
Police broke up the party about 2 a.m., Howard said.
A YouTube video shows a line of officers, some wearing helmets and holding batons, dispersing students on 23rd and Hoover streets.
There were rumors that some in the crowd threw bottles at officers, a fact that couldn’t be independently confirmed.
A second video captured on a cellphone showed turmoil in the backyard of the home as officers ordered people to leave.
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