February 11, 2025 Your Source for Brentwood News

UCLA Police Chief Reassigned After Assault on Palestine Solidarity Encampment

Acting Chief Named as John Thomas Reassigned to Other Duties on Monday

By Dolores Quintana

In the aftermath of the vicious, hours-long assault on the UCLA student Palestine Solidarity Encampment, in which UCLA students, faculty members, and journalists were assaulted by a rampaging mob of pro-Israeli “counter-protesters”, UCLA’s Chief of Police, John Thomas has been reassigned to different duties. This news came from an emailed statement from Vice Chancellor of Strategic Communications, Mary Osako. The new acting chief of police was named in the statement. 

Oskao’s statement said, “UCLA named Gawin Gibson as Acting Chief of Police, effective Tuesday, May 21. John Thomas has been reassigned temporarily, pending an examination of our 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 well-being and safety of our community.”

Not one assailant from the night of April 30 and the early morning hours of May 1 has yet been arrested. Even after the LAPD was called in by Mayor Bass around 1:00 a.m., APEX Security and the UCPD did nothing to stop the violence. When the LAPD arrived, the assailants were merely moved out of Royce Quad. None were questioned or detained, despite ample evidence, via live stream news reports, that multiple, brutal assaults and repeated and potentially deadly attacks on the encampment had taken place. 

We reported on the attack earlier this month, as this reporter was on the scene and was also assaulted. CNN published a report that named several assailants. It cannot be denied that the members of the encampment held off the assailants for four hours without any assistance from UCLA or the police.

Members of UCLA’s student newspaper, The Daily Bruin, were attacked while trying to leave the area, including Catherine Hamilton, news editor. This assault took place about a hundred feet from the line of UCPD officers. The Daily Bruin reporters were beaten and sprayed with a chemical irritant by several assailants who were hanging around the exit after being told to leave. 

This is the first public step UCLA has taken in the three weeks since the attack, other than Chancellor Gene Block’s move to create a new Office of Campus Safety with Rick Braziel as the new head of this newly created department. Braziel is a former chief of police of the city of Sacramento and a member of the nine-person review committee appointed by the Department of Justice in the investigation into the Uvalde Elementary School Shooting

Wade Stern, President of the Federated University Peace Officers Association (FUPOA), a union that represents the University of California Police Officers refutes the idea that the UCPD was responsible for the lack of response in an emailed statement, “The UCLA administration owns the failure of any protest response, and the public should reject their attempts to shift blame to law enforcement. UC guidelines detailed in the Robinson/Edley Report require a trained senior administrator at UCLA to decide how to respond to protests, guided by an existing plan that had been rehearsed and scenario planned with both UCLA PD and outside law enforcement agencies.

What unfolded at UCLA calls into question whether UCLA complied with the guidelines to have in place senior administrators trained in crowd control response, with written plans for response that were the product of scenario training and consultation with its police department and outside law enforcement agencies. The response to protests appears ad hoc and devoid of the structured planning mandated by the UC system.”

in News
Related Posts

Retailers Impose Purchase Restrictions as Supply Chain Disruptions Cause Concern

February 10, 2025

February 10, 2025

Egg Limits Are Back – What’s Causing the Shortage? Retailers across the United States, including Costco and Trader Joe’s, have...

Esteemed Brentwood Entertainment Reporter Sam Rubin Honored at Major Awards Ceremonies

February 10, 2025

February 10, 2025

Industry Pays Tribute to a Broadcasting Legend With Special Recognition The late Sam Rubin, a longtime and beloved entertainment reporter...

New Bill Targets Crime in Disaster Zones – Here’s What You Need to Know

February 10, 2025

February 10, 2025

Lawmakers Push for Tougher Penalties To Protect Vulnerable Communities California lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at cracking down...

What about are you protected from future wildfires?

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

Our hearts go out to all those impacted by the recent wildfires and Santa Ana windstorms in Southern California. We...

Tree Trimmer Shocked by Power Lines in Westwood and Suspended 25 Feet in the Air

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

LAFD to the Rescue and LADWP Worked to De-Energize Power Lines The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) responded to reports...

Shore Hotel Remains Sustainability Leader

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

By Susan Payne On track to open its new coastal-inspired restaurant, Shore Hotel has excited new offerings and initiatives this...

Brentwood’s Newest Architectural Marvel Lists as a Modernist Masterpiece

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

Brand New Estate Blends Contemporary Elegance With Cutting-Edge Luxury A newly completed estate in Brentwood, designed by AD100-recognized architects Ramin...

Multiple Injuries, Deaths in Multi-Vehicle Crash on 405 Freeway in Westwood

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

Emergency Crews Extricated One Trapped Victim; Two in Critical Condition Emergency crews responded to the scene of a multi-vehicle crash...

Actor Will Arnett Lists Stunning Beverly Hills-Area Home for $22.5 Million

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

Comedy Star’s Modern Farmhouse Features Custom Podcast Studio Actor and comedian Will Arnett is selling his modern farmhouse-style home near...

Rescheduled 2024 Homeless Count Needs More Volunteers on the Westside

February 9, 2025

February 9, 2025

Not Enough Volunteers to Successfully Count Unhoused Angelenos This Year With the rescheduled dates for the 2025 Greater Los Angeles...

Brentwood Library Announces Fantastic February Events for Children and Families

February 7, 2025

February 7, 2025

Storytime, Brick-Building, Readings, and Live Music are Highlights This Month Althea Martinez, the Donald Kaufman Brentwood Library’s new children’s librarian,...

Student Protest Over Immigration Policies Leads to Walkouts Across the Westside

February 7, 2025

February 7, 2025

Walkout Turns Tense as Counter-Protester Confronts Teen in Video From Venice Students from Santa Monica High School (SAMOHI), Culver City...

Open Arms Art Show Runs Through Mar. 22 in Burbank

February 6, 2025

February 6, 2025

Opening Exhibition Saturday Feb. 8 from 12 to 8p.m. More than an art show, the Open Arms Exhibition is an...

Quiet Luxury: What’s Inside the New Regent Boutique and Sweet July

February 6, 2025

February 6, 2025

The Regent Santa Monica Beach, known for its perfect Santa Monica getaways, or local dining at its Mediterranean-based restaurant Orla...

Serial Predator David Pearce Convicted of Murders, Rape in Shocking Fentanyl Overdose Case in West LA

February 6, 2025

February 6, 2025

“Dead Girls Don’t Talk,” Fake Producer Abandoned Women’s Bodies Like Garbage A jury convicted David Brian Pearce of two counts...