UCLA moved quickly to create a new chief security officer position to oversee campus security operations, including the campus police department, after what it called critical missteps in handling protests that culminated in a pro-Palestinian The student camp was attacked by thugs.
Chancellor Gene Bullock announced Sunday that former Sacramento Police Chief Rick Brazier, who has reviewed law enforcement responses in high-profile cases across the country, will serve as vice chancellor in the new Office of Campus Safety. He will oversee the Police Department (including Police Chief John Thomas, who is facing calls to resign) and the Office of Emergency Management.
Basile has previously been tasked with reviewing police actions during the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting; the riots in Ferguson, Missouri; the shootout with cop killer Christopher Dorner; and other situations. The chancellor said he will report directly to Bullock, and the department will be dedicated to campus security — an arrangement that has proven effective at major universities across the country. Previously, the campus police chief and Office of Emergency Management reported to Vice Chancellor for Administration Michael Baker.
Block also announced the formation of a new advisory group to work with Braziel. Members include UC Davis Police Chief Joseph Farrow, esteemed chair of the UC Police Chiefs Council; Vickie Mays, professor of psychology and health policy and management at UCLA; Jody ‧Jody Stiger, Director of Community Safety for the University of California System.
“Keeping our community safe is fundamental to everything we do at UCLA. Over the past week, our campus has been rocked by incidents that have disrupted feelings of safety and strained trust within our community, ” Bullock said in a message to the campus community. “One thing is already clear: To best protect our communities moving forward, we need to urgently change the way we manage safety operations.
“The well-being of our students, faculty and staff is of paramount importance.”
The move was intended to immediately address a campus security breach that left UCLA students and others involved in a protest encampment to defend themselves against assailants for three hours before law enforcement officers stepped in to quell the melee.
Three sources who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that Thomas failed to provide campus leadership with a repeatedly requested written security plan describing how he planned to keep the campus safe in a variety of situations, including gatherings, skirmishes and and violence. Although he was authorized to pay as much overtime as needed, he failed to secure outside law enforcement to assist UCLA police and private security in protecting the camp before rioters attacked, sources said.
Thomas also assured leadership that it would only take “a few minutes” to mobilize law enforcement to quell the violence. In fact, it took them three hours to gather enough police to intervene.
In an interview late Friday night, Thomas dismissed the claim as inaccurate and said he had done “everything I could” to protect the community during a week of conflict that has engulfed UCLA.
A large group of counterprotesters, some dressed in black and wearing white masks, stormed the area Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, attacking campers, tearing down barricades and throwing logs and other objects at the campground and those inside. Some campers carried wood and wore goggles and helmets in an attempt to protect themselves with pepper spray and other means. Several people were injured, including four Daily Bruins student reporters.
UC President Michael V. Drake has launched an independent review of UCLA’s response, which Bullock welcomed. The chancellor also launched an internal review of campus safety procedures. A spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom also called for answers to explain “the limited and delayed law enforcement response on UCLA’s campus.”
Drake welcomed Basil’s appointment, saying he brought “a wealth of experience in community policing, emergency response operations and agency review.”
“I fully support this appointment and believe it is an important step in restoring confidence in our public safety systems and procedures,” Drake said in a statement Sunday.
A UC source said UC’s external investigation is expected to unfold quickly and focus more on lessons to be learned rather than individuals to blame.
But sources say there are growing calls internally for Thomas to resign. Baker, the vice chancellor to whom he reports, also came under scrutiny.
Baker has not yet responded to a request for comment about his behavior at protests and around encampments.
A UC source who was not authorized to speak publicly said Thomas was a “conscientious public servant” who warned the camp from the moment the first tents were erected. But sources said his warnings to dismantle the camp were ignored.
“It’s ridiculous to blame the police chief,” the source said. “That’s squarely in the hands of Michael Baker.”
The UC police union issued a statement Saturday reiterating that the external review should focus on the failures of administrators, not those of law enforcement.
Wade Stern, president of the 250-strong Commonwealth University Police Association, which represents UC’s 10 police officers, said: “UC administrators are solely responsible for the university’s response to campus protests, and they bear the consequences of those responses. “UC’s written guidelines clearly state that UC administrators determine the response to campus protests, who will respond, and that the role of campus police is only to implement that response. “
Several top LAPD leaders who were not authorized to discuss the incident told The Times that Thomas had tarnished the reputation of Los Angeles law enforcement with a lack of planning and poor communication with other agencies. They said they had to scramble to find officers and wait until around 1:40 a.m. to gather enough personnel to intervene safely.
Critics said his attempt to justify his actions to The Times while others focused on resolving the crisis showed selfishness and prompted more calls for him to step down.
Thomas said he was not ready to resign. He claimed he has provided daily briefings to campus leadership, including resource levels, response protocols and assigned roles for deployed personnel.
He said his plans were limited because of instructions from campus leaders not to use police, in line with UC community guidelines that rely on communication with protesters first and use law enforcement as a last resort.
When campus leaders directed him to seek outside help and hire enough police officers and private security to protect the community at all costs, Thomas said he tried to get help from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. But he said a Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant told him before the melee broke out that there was a problem with the payment system between the city and state that prevented the work from being completed.
Thomas acknowledged that he did tell leadership it would only take a few minutes to deploy the police force, but he was referring to the general response — there were not large enough forces to handle the size of the crowds that clashed that night. But three sources confirmed he was asked directly how long it would take outside law enforcement to quell any violence.
The Times reported Thursday that the UCLA Police Department had requested additional officers from other campuses five days before the attack. The report is based on documents reviewed for the paper and information provided by the head of the UC police union. Only a few UCLA police officers on duty were on hand to protect the encampment Tuesday night. Questions were raised about why he did not increase the number of UC police officers that night after being directed to use all necessary resources to keep the community safe.
“I’ve tried my best to increase our police presence, but because our department is so small, we can’t provide that service,” he said.
The night of the attack, Thomas said he was watching a Dodgers game at home when Baker alerted him to the mob violence. Thomas said he immediately called the Los Angeles Police Department to request deployment to campus and notified UCLA’s watch commander, requesting law enforcement along with the cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica and deputy sheriffs Help each other.
He said that when he arrived at the scene, 19 officers from UCLA, the Los Angeles Police Department and three mutual aid agencies had arrived but had not yet intervened to quell the violence. An LAPD lieutenant told him the unit was too small; Thomas said he asked why they couldn’t go in with the existing unit, and the lieutenant told him he had been instructed to wait.
It took more than 90 minutes before enough troops arrived to intervene. The next day, UCLA called in police to dismantle the encampment and arrest more than 200 protesters early Thursday morning during hours of clashes.
The campus will resume normal operations on Monday. Teachers are encouraged to resume in-person instruction as soon as possible, but may continue to teach remotely until Friday without departmental authorization. Law enforcement officers were stationed throughout campus, according to a BruinAlert message sent Sunday morning.
But sources said protests and fraught political tensions continue to deeply divide campus members and the outside community, making free speech difficult. They expressed hope that Bullock’s actions would be a turning point.
“The principal made it clear that the safety of the Bruin community comes first, and his quick, decisive action is truly welcomed,” a source said.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed Report.
