A former university student accused of striking a USC professor with a metal water bottle in a classroom two years ago is currently seeking to have her criminal prosecution paused in favor of a supervised mental health treatment program, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
Brianna Gallimore, now 26, is facing a felony charge for assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a September 2024 incident in Verna and Peter Dauterive Hall (VPD).
On Sept. 23, 2024, Gallimore swung her metal water bottle at USC professor Danyao Li, hitting the professor on the head, authorities and witnesses said after the incident. Li, an assistant professor at the Price School of Public Policy, was teaching a class when she was allegedly assaulted. Gallimore was arrested by USC police following the incident, Annenberg Media previously reported.
On July 29 this year, Gallimore asked the court to divert the case to mental health treatment before trial and to keep a psychological evaluation under seal.
Under California mental health diversion law, courts can pause a case and send the defendant to treatment. If the treatment is successfully completed, the court can dismiss the charges entirely and clear the defendant’s record of the criminal proceedings, according to California Penal Code Section 1001.36.
Her case is set to head to another pre-trial conference on Oct. 29, when a diversion hearing is also set to begin. The court has initiated a 30-day timeline related to the pretrial diversion program, and the case is currently at “day 00,” which is the very beginning of that window.
The case is currently pending in Department 131 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.