LOS ANGELES – The University of Southern California (USC) Department of Public Safety is mourning the death of one of their own officers who was shot by former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Christopher Dorner.
USC Public Safety Officer Keith Lawrence, 27, who had worked for the department since August 2012, was shot and killed by Dorner on Feb. 4 in Irvine, Calif., along with his fiancé Monica Quan, 28. The double homicide prompted a massive manhunt for Dorner, which ended earlier this week after a shootout in Big Bear, Calif.
Since the manhunt began, the focus on the victims has mostly centered around Quan and the other two sworn police officers (Michael Crain and Jeremiah MacKay) who were also gunned down by the former LAPD officer. Staff and administrators from USC’s Public Safety Department, however, want the public and media to fully recognize Lawrence’s achievements with the department.
“During his brief tenure of service here at USC, Officer Lawrence proved to be an honorable, compassionate and professional member of our department and the Trojan Family,” the school’s Department of Public Safety said in a statement. “We are a better department and the USC campus community is a safer place as a result of his service.”
Officer Lawrence was very proud to be a USC public safety officer, says USCDPS Executive Director/Chief John Thomas. “His family has asked that he be laid to rest in his USC DPS uniform.”
The joint memorial service for Lawrence and Quan will be held on Sunday, Feb. 24 at Concordia University in Irvine, Calif.
Photo courtesy USC.
