Review of campus reponse, 1992-08-28

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Content j .) '
Exhibit B
RFnEW OP CAMPUS RESPONSE
TO LOS ANGELES CIVIL DISTUR.BABCE
L. Wade
S. Ward
D. Mask
05/11/92
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The Rodney King verdict on Wednesday, April 29, 1992 Marked the
beginning of a difficult period for Los Angeles and for use. Major
rioting, looting, fires, and power outages oc~..irred in many areas,
including some in t.~e i!Ilmediate vicinity of the campus, beginning
that afternoon and extending for the next t-o days. In response to
the disturba· nce, -t.~e USC Emergency Operations Plan was activated on
Thursday, April 30th. The ·incident was an external disaster which
it was felt at the time could easily have the potential to become
an internal disaster if amergency teams were not quickly Mobilized.
Key units Qf the Business Affairs Division, Student Affairs
Division, arid Public Relations used the disaster plan structure to
respond effectively to the situation, protecting t.~e campus and
making rapid recoverI possible.
The following is a brief summary of the actions taken by key
depart:nents during t.~is period.
Precedina Events
The USC Emergency Operations Plan was developed by Safety and Risk
Management Ser~ices, and is intended to ensure the safety a.~d full
=ecoverf of the university in any large-scale emergency situation.
The plan depends on Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) located on
the University Park and Healt!l Sciences campuses, where
representati,,1es of many 3usiness Af'fairs and other key units gather
to coordinate emergency response and restore the University• s
operating conditions followL~g a major ea.r+...hquake or otb.er
disaster.
Ironically, an ear-~quake exercise of the University :Park EOC had
been conducted Qn Wednesday, April 22nd, only a week before the
disturbance, reminding key unit- s of disaster pians and procedures.
A 'Jlc-derate ear....!l_ quake on the southern San Andreas Fault occurred
Wednesday evening follo. wing the drill. The U.S. Geological Survey
issued a "Lavel B" ea.r-~quake advisory~ with a ·l-in-4 probability
of a major quake during the _ following three days. E:nergency
?lanning worked clQsely with key respon·se units to go into a
heightened state of earthquake readiness on Thursday, April 23rd.
Security .Services prepu,ed a standl:)y A/B deployme.."l.t plan in which
all officers were pre-assigned to 12 hour shifts. The earthquake
failed to occur, but th.ese preparations proved useful in the days
following.
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Wednescav. Acril 29th
The announcement of the King v~rcict in the afternoon provcked t.~e
beginnings of reaction in the community very quickly. Reports of
off-campus violence, fires and looting began to flood into the
Security Services Communication Center. Security immediately
activated the A/B deployment plan and recommended that
Transportation Services close all campus entrances except Gates,
which was i:nmediately accomplished. The President conferred with
his senior staff regarding the situation and the readiness of the
University to deal with potential contingencies.
A male student was attacked and beaten at 7:00 pm on 35th Street
across the street from campus, but escaped with minor injuries.
The victim was treated by a Security Officer/EMT and transported to
Orthopaedic Hospital for additional treat:nent. At 7:45 pm, a
female student was assaulted near Parking Structure B by several
members of a group of 10-12 persons who jumped the fence. She went
to the Cinema School and called Security. The student declined
medical treabent and left campus with a friend.
A major incident of the evening ".Jas t..1.e shooting of a non
University person at 11:30 pm at Exposition and Ver:nont, witnessed
by students in Parkside Apart~ents. Security officers responded to
this incident, securing t.1-ie area and providing medical care for the
victim. After more than 40 minutes waiting for a city ambulance,
securitv officers ~rovided an escort for LAFD Rescue Ambulance 815,
which could not leave its station without such protection. At the
same tbne, officer/ EMTs, · .. or king ·•i t.i-i a Student Heal t.ri Center
Physician and Nurse, were treating multiple victims of a serious
traffic accident adjacent to t.l-ie Davidson Conference Center. Since
no ambulances '#'ere available, of:i·c:ers improvised, ta.king t..~e seats
out of an Escort Service van and converting it to a ta!Ilporary
ambulance. The physician and nurse who t=eated the accident
vict:i.Jls volunteered to come in from t.'leir homes and had been
-t=ansported ;rom t.~e East San Gabriel Valley by sec.J.rity officers
~o ensure a medical presence in t.~e Student Healt.~ Centar dur:....~g
t:..~is first night of the rioting.
During t.1lis period, Residential P~otection officers protected
student residential areas. Student Affairs Residential Life staff
.ere instr..unental in keeping students indoors during t.'le hours of
dar~~ess, discouraging sightseeing from exposed balconies.
Although ~ajor fires '#'ere started in nearby off-campus areas on
Wednesday, only two minor !ires occurred on campus. A !ire was
discovered in a dUJnoster behind Bovard Administration Building, and
was extinguished by Sec.ttity Officers. A s'lllall fire was discovered
in Grace Ford Salvatori by a student, who put the blaze out and
called Sec.J.rity to fully control t.~e scene. Facilities Plann.i.~g
and Manag~ent '#'as directed to empty all trash receptacles and
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dt:1npsters to prevent furt~er fires.
Late Wednesday evening Public Relations anc. Telecommunications
Ser-Jices established a snecial infor:iation line #hich #ould receive
al~cst 40,000 calls in t~e following 96 hours.
T~ursdav, April 30th
By early Thursday morning it became apparent that the situation in
the South Central Los Angeles area including the University Park
neighborhood was completely out of control. The Associate Vice
President of Safety and Risk Management Services and t.~e Director
of E:nergency Planning reported to campus and, at the direction of
the Vice President for Business Affairs, activated t.~e Emergency
Operations Center. Security Services i1nmediately transferred
operational direc~ion to the center, followed quickly by Facilities
Operation & Maintenance Services, Facilities Planning, Design, and
Construction Services, Housing & Residence Halls, Dining Services,
Transportation Services, and Telecommunications. Student Affairs
and Universfty Public Relations established operations centers
elsewhere, but stayed in continuous contact with the ECC, providing
and receiving periodic status reports, disseminating infer.nation,
and resolving problems.
Initial situation assessment on Thursday morning indicate~ t.~at
~est staff, faculty and some students had remained at home, but
that emergency response staff and perhaps 5100 resident students
:-emained in University hcusing on and off campus. Off campus
violence and destr~ction were escalating, and fires burned out of
control at several nearby locations. Unrestrained looting was
taking place at a number of nearby businesses, and LA City fire and
police personnel ·.ere not available to assist. It appeared likely
t~at t.l-ie campus "tiould be targeted for activ·ity t.~at night.
The ?~esident conducted a conference cal· l ·11dth his senior staff on
Thursday morning in ;.hich t...~e situation "Jas reviewed in depth. It
.as decided to lbiit ac~ivities on t!le University Park campus while
maintaining full 09erations on tbe Health Sciences campus where
ci=~..imstances did not war=ant a reduction in activity. An
announcement was prepared by public relations and disseminated
t.b.rough the prL"'lt and electronic 1.0.edia L"lf or:ning st:ide..l'lts that
t.~eir exaJninations, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, had been
postponed until the follcwL,g week and the Student Affairs Division
proposed to establish a telephone response teal?l to field incoming
calls from students and parents. The telephone response team would
ans~er calls on average ever/ t!lirty seconds for t..~e nert several
days handling a total of 25,000 calls.
At 10:25 am, ti10 male st:idents were attacked at 36t..~ & Ver:nont, but
escaped with minor injuries after being res~~ed by Security
Officers. At 11:15 am, a female student was pulled from her car
outside an aparcient at 1226 30th ?lace. The attacker drove away
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in the car, #hie~ has no~ been recovered, bu~ t~e student #as not
injured.
The EOC staff developed an overall st::-ategy
early afternoon .hich required decisive
approached:
for the campus in t..~e
actions as evening
• All residential students were to be evacuated from the
off campus residential facilities and Parkside
Apart~ents, and transported by Transportation Services
and Security to the campus. · Student Affairs and Housing
staff had to locate temporary quarters in campus
residence halls, and Student Affairs had to establish a
te!llporary shelter area in the Lyon Center. Student
Affairs staff were to assist in communicating information
to students and manage the shelter operation overnight.
• Dining Services was to establish ertended food services
at Cafe 84 and 24 hour ser,.rice at EVK cafeteria. Food
and shelter ser~ices were also to be provided to the EOC
staff, e!llergency workers, LA.PD officers, and National
Guardsmen if t.~ey later entered the area.
• In order to assist Security in protecting t.'1.e campus, the
EOC established 21 overnight building watch teams ·on the
perimeter of campus. Each team was composed of t;;o staff
~e!ll.bers from eit.'1.er Safety and ·Risk Management Services
or Facilities Operation and Maintenance Services,
equipped wit.'1 flashlights, fire extinguishers, and t#o
·11ay radios. The teams were instructed to act as eyes and
ears, reporting intruders, fires, or looting, and putting
out small fires if necessary.
The President held a ~eeting Thursday afternoon of his senior staff
in which t!le strategy developed for the campus ·11as approved. The
President deter:nined he would stay en campus for the night and meet
;with . the EOC staff, the security staff and the students being
relocated to the Lyon University Canter and other campus housing
units.
During this period, evacuation of t..'1.e nor-.h campus area was a high
priority due to t.lle nwnerous reported incidents and a power outage
in the Nor~ University Park area which affectad many fraternities,
sorcri ties, · and University housing uni ts. The operation was
successful, alt.~ough some instances of students refusing to
evacuate were reported. By this ti.:ne, the resident student
population had decrea_ sed to approximately 1500 as students had fled
the area during the day. Several of the University's suppliers had
refused to make deli ~,eries to the campus on Thursday. In order to
accommodate ·the evac..iated students, additional food and linens were
required. Security was dispatched and escorted our food and li..,en
suppliers to the campus to deliver their products.
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Student A.f:: airs staf: -:,;ere escorted bv Se cur.:.-:·, to non-Uni ·1ers it·,
studen~ housing facilities to of::er r~siden~s t~mporarJ housing on
campus.
The evening #as an anxious one for EOC staff due to the ongoina
events off campus and a nu:n.ber of phone threats saying that "USC i;
next." Just after midnight, the EOC building watch team in t...,.e
Denny Research Building reporced intruders throwing rocks at the
building, but the intruders fled .hen Security arrived.
Fortunately, t.~e campus did not become a major target of activitv
during the night. The only damage to an on-campus facility was a
shattered window in a parking kiosk at Entrance a on Jefferson
Boulevard.
Fridav. Mav 1st
Events began to slew down as LAPD and National Guard personnel
filtered into the area. EOC staff decided that both g:roups should
be given free meals at ~r~ cafeteria. The LA.PD and National Guard
members helped to reassure students and provide a higher level of
security si~ply by their visibility coming to and from the campus
to eat. Some 1500 meals per day were provided to them on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday.
On Friday morning the ?resident held another meeting of the senior
staff in his office where he had spent the night. It was
detennined t..~at the campus should beain to return to nor:nal
operation as soon as reasonably feasible, and t...1.e gates which had
been closed since Wednesday evening should be reopened as should
the Li~rary and Bookstore for wee..~end ser~ice. The Provost began
t.~e process of rescheduling postponed final exams and developing
policy for students una.ble to take their exams.
At 9:15 pm three ~ales, at least one a USC student, were detained
by the National .Guard at the University Village. The students were
circling the Village in a car, apparently sightseeing. The
Guardsjllen held t.."l.em at gunpoint. Sec..irity officers arrived to
assist and discovered t...-iree guns and a large Jc.,ife in their car.
Sec.irity officers confiscated the weapons and released the
individuals, after .a~ing them not to violate ~..ir£ew •
.. ~t approx.i:nately t!le same tue, National Guard Troops observed
possilJle snipers on top of Fluor Tower. I:m.mediate investigation by
Security dete..~ined t.1.ey were students not snipers and the rooftop
;.as secured.
Saturdav, Mav 2nd
liter a quiet night and t.,.e full establishment of National Guard
and LAPD presence in t.."l.e st=eets, the EOC was deactivated at 8:30
am.
5
Post-Incident Concerns
The highest priority immediately following the incident ~as
returning to nonnal status including completing final examinations
and conducting graduation ceremonies_ • . Major ~fforts are now being
made by the Office of Civic and Community Relations to aid the
surrounding community by coordinating relief efforts and
di~seminating .information ·on aid programs available. Since the
incident has received .a Presidential disaster declaration, federal
disaster aid. centers will be established in the affected area, and
the University _ will assist in alerting the community and staff
members to these programs.
The Univ~sity has dispatched _ its street sweepers and garbage
trucks into the surrounding community to assist in the clean up.
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