Two major reports slam UCLA over policing, violence at pro-Palestinian protest

Two high-profile, back-to-back reports slam UCLA leaders for a confusing breakdown in its police response leading to violence at a pro-Palestinian encampment in April, with one investigation also calling out the university’s “dramatic failures in confronting antisemitism.”A draft report to the Los Angeles Police Commission released Friday cited a lack of coordination between UCLA, LAPD and the California Highway Patrol and smaller municipal police agencies that were hastily called to campus in the spring.UCLA, which has its own police force, had distanced itself from relying on the LAPD in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests four years ago, a practice that contributed to the poorly coordinated response, the report suggested.

Some arriving teams of officers did not even know their way around the sprawling campus and were subjected to conflicting orders about what to do as the melee unfolded for hours in front of them the night of April 30.The LAPD should take the the lead on campus law enforcement ahead of future “large scale events” if university staffing isn’t adequate, the report said.The report to the commission, the civilian agency tasked with LAPD oversight, came on the heels of a congressional probe that pilloried the university for allowing antisemitism to foment on campus during pro-Palestinian protests.California Nearly six months after vigilantes attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, antiwar protests — and concerns over anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim sentiment on campus — continue.

Two separate faculty task forces trying to address the issues have come to different conclusions.Oct.23, 2024The Republican-led U.S.

House Committee on Education and the Workforce criticized UCLA and other elite universities, including Harvard and Columbia, for “dramatic failures in confronting antisemitism.” The report — which drew upon emails between UCLA Police, UCLA administrators, UC President Michael V.Drake and UC Regents — followed e...