USC’s Department of Public Safety posted photos – now taken down – of men being handcuffed with an emoji over their faces on Monday.
“The photos were intended to show one facet of what DPS does to keep our campus safe,” said DPS Assistant Chief David Carlisle.
After campus backlash, including some students calling the videos “degrading” in interviews with Annenberg TV News, Carlisle told Annenberg Media that the department will no longer post photos or videos of arrests.
DPS posted another skit earlier this week to the Usher song “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).” In this video, a DPS sergeant arrests a woman with the caption, “Sergeant Garcia doesn’t text … he just pulls up, opens doors for you, listens to everything you have to say and leaves you with a brand new set of ‘jewelry.”
Next to ‘jewelry,’ the department posted a chain emoji. The post continued, “When ‘Daddy’s home’… it’s lights, maybe sirens.” This video was not taken down.
Carlisle told ATVN in a statement about the posts, “Whatever we can do to get more viewership that is in good taste, not immoral, not illegal, not unethical, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Other skits are more straightforward, with one Instagram post showing the officers acting out a skit where a student has their bike stolen and asks DPS for assistance.
Though DPS claims these skits are meant to be informative for students, the videos raise concerns among the student body.
“What precedent is this setting to the USC community that these people who are making skits are going to protect you from any sort of violence in the area?” said David Hoth, a second-year student studying communications.
Yan Su Li, a second-year student studying public relations and advertising, said the videos were “upsetting to see.”
The feedback on social media is mixed, with more positive comments reading, “Puts a smile on my face” and “This is soooo funny.” But other commenters wrote, “Bye, DPS is so racist,” and “I fear this didn’t eat.” “
In addition to the skits, DPS has posted on Instagram the officers participating in viral trends. They have a series of videos asking officers what year they were born, then AI generates photos that represent their generation.
While DPS continues to have a presence on social media, students consider where the line should be drawn between engagement and authority.
“I don’t really think it’s the time to be making skits, and to joke around, when there’s stuff they need to do to keep the campus safe,” said Lena Du, a third-year student majoring in mechanical engineering.
The tension between doing security work and connecting with the community is common throughout Los Angeles. Candice Cobarrubias, a former police captain for the Santa Monica Police Department, said, “Social media is the manner in which law enforcement is learning to communicate to reach a broader audience.”
“Social media can be an incredibly profound asset to how we communicate to reach a larger base in real time in which to share pertinent information,” she said. “I think social media is how law enforcement will continue to provide information, as it is more effective than traditional news outlets.”
But for some students, that’s still not enough – with one student summing it up:
“I feel like there are other ways they could probably use their time,” Li said.