Current:Home > NewsUCLA's police chief 'reassigned temporarily' after campus protests on Israel-Hamas war-LoTradeCoin
UCLA's police chief 'reassigned temporarily' after campus protests on Israel-Hamas war
View Date:2024-12-23 23:59:59
The University of California, Los Angeles has "temporarily" reassigned the school's police chief following protests and violent clashes on campus over Israel's war in Gaza.
Former Police Chief John Thomas was reassigned Monday, and Gawin Gibson is now acting chief of the UCPD.
UCLA is a public land-grand research university located in Los Angeles. The school has over 46,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled, per the university's records.
Mary Osako, UCLA's vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement shared with USA TODAY that the reassignment comes as UCLA's Office of Campus Safety examines security processes.
“As we said on May 5, UCLA created a new Office of Campus Safety that is leading a thorough examination of our security processes aimed at enhancing the wellbeing and safety of our community,” Osako said in the statement.
According to the Los Angles Times, Thomas allegedly canceled requests for outside police assistance and failed to provide a safety plan to UCLA before violence broke out between Israel supporters and pro-Palestinian protestors on April 30.
More:Do college protests pay off? Wins are varied and sometimes lasting, experts say
Police did not intervene as counter-protesters attacked encampment
Early that morning, dozens of counter-protesters, some carrying Israeli flags and wearing black clothes and masks, attacked the encampment at Dickson Plaza, an outdoor quad on the campus.
Video of the scene captured the counter-protesters pulling down the encampment's fence, lobbing fireworks into the camp, and spraying pro-Palestinian protesters with pepper spray. Some in the group carried metal bars and sticks that they used to beat people who tried to exit the encampment.
Officers on the scene did not intervene for more than an hour while the violent clash continued, sparking heavy criticism of the Los Angeles Police Department and campus police. In a statement the next day, the LAPD said "no arrests were made, no force was used, and no officers were injured."
UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block said in a statement later that morning that a "group of instigators" came to "forcefully attack" the encampment. The "attack on our students, faculty and community members was utterly unacceptable," he added. The university cancelled all classes the next day.
Two days after the clash, at around 4 a.m., police wearing riot gear breached and dismantled the encampment. Officers fired flash bangs as protesters chanted at police to leave. Around 200 people were arrested and at least one person was seriously injured.
The LAPD said it deployed its officers at the request of university administrators and "due to multiple acts of violence within the large encampment."
Block said the "violent clashes" between protesters and counter-protesters put students "in harm’s way and created an environment that was completely unsafe for learning."
Investigations by CNN and The Guardian revealed members of several far-right groups participated in the attack on the encampment.
Campus protests:Amid campus protests, organizers with past ties to Hamas support also emerge
UCLA chancellor to testify before congressional committee on campus antisemitism
In a message to campus posted Monday, Block said he is testifying before a congressional committee this week on the topic of antisemitism on college campuses.
"I will speak honestly, and personally, about the challenges UCLA faces and the impact of this pernicious form of hate," Block wrote. "I will continue to insist that antisemitism – as well as Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate and any form of bigotry, hostility or discrimination – is antithetical to our values, corrosive to our community and not to be tolerated."
Protests against Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip and U.S. military support for Israel have swept college campuses since Oct. 7, when a surprise Hamas attack on Israel's border triggered the largest escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in half a century. Student protesters have demanded that universities divest, or pull their investments, from Israel.
Tension between demonstrators and law enforcement escalated last month, as more university administrations called in outside police to dismantle on-campus encampments and arrest protesters. New York police cleared protesters from Hamilton Hall on Columbia University's campus in mid-April, drawing international attention and sparking more student demonstrations in response.
Thousands have been arrested at campuses across the country.
The protests have impeded and forced modifications to graduation ceremonies this month. Some universities moved their graduation events to other venues in anticipation of interruptions by protesters, while others have canceled ceremonies altogether.
veryGood! (35)
Related
- Federal judge orders Oakland airport to stop using ‘San Francisco’ in name amid lawsuit
- IRS has second thoughts about selfie requirement
- Irma Olguin: Why we should bring tech economies to underdog cities
- Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to be sentenced on Sept. 26
- After entire police force resigns in small Oklahoma town, chief blames leaders, budget cuts
- Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix Turns Up the Heat on Vacation After Tom Sandoval Split
- TikTok is driving book sales. Here are some titles #BookTok recommends
- Elizabeth Holmes trial: Jury is deadlocked on 3 of 11 fraud charges
- Surprise bids revive hope for offshore wind in Gulf of Mexico after feds cancel lease sale
- Lindsay Lohan Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Husband Bader Shammas
Ranking
- Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound
- China approves coal power surge, risking climate disasters, Greenpeace says
- Inside Pregnant Rumer Willis’ Baby Shower With Demi Moore, Emma Heming and Sisters
- Shakira has been named Billboard's inaugural Latin Woman of the Year
- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 10: Who will challenge for NFC throne?
- 1 American dead in Sudan as U.S. readies troops for potential embassy evacuation amid heavy fighting
- As the jury deliberates Elizabeth Holmes' fate, experts say 'fraud is complicated'
- Amy Webb: A Glimpse Into The Future
Recommendation
-
US inflation may have picked up in October after months of easing
-
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to be sentenced on Sept. 26
-
Ukrainian girls' math team wins top European spot during olympiad
-
When Tracking Your Period Lets Companies Track You
-
Why was Jalen Ramsey traded? Dolphins CB facing former team on 'Monday Night Football'
-
AirTags are being used to track people and cars. Here's what is being done about it
-
Proof Kendall and Kylie Jenner Had the Best Time With Gigi Hadid at Vanity Fair Oscar Party
-
Kenyan cult deaths at 73, president likens them to terrorism