UCLA police chief removed amid criticism over handling of anti-Israel protests
UCLA's police chief, John Thomas, was removed following criticisms of his handling of pro-Palestine demonstrations, with an audit highlighting poor tactical planning and chaotic responses.
Governor Gavin Newsom also criticized the delayed law enforcement action, prompting state intervention.
John Thomas, who was previously the head of the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) police department has been removed from his position following his alleged mishandling of anti-Israel demonstrations at the school.
“December 10, 2024, was former UCLA Police Chief John Thomas’ last day with UCLA and the UCLA Police Department,” the department stated on Dec. 12, according to Reuters.
The removal of UCLA’s police chief follows a UCLA audit which had scathing criticisms of how the university police department handled the pro-Palestine demonstrations that rocked the school during the spring semester.
“Indeed, the absence of advance tactical planning made the law enforcement response, when it was necessary on both April 28 and April 30, slower and more chaotic than it should have been,” the audit stated. “Although UCLA PD personnel were present, no one from UCLA PD took command of the scene, and officials from the responding agencies described that it appeared no one was in charge.”
After the protest, which continued until the early morning of May 1, California Governor Gavin Newsom critiqued the campus law enforcement response.
“The limited and delayed campus law enforcement response at UCLA last night was unacceptable – and it demands answers,” a spokesperson from Newsom’s office stated at the time, according to NBC Los Angeles. “As soon as it became clear that the state assistance was needed to support a local response, our office immediately deployed CHP personnel to campus,” the statement added.
Incidents in the past few months show that anti-Semitism remains a pressing concern at UCLA.
Recently, the UCLA student government was sued for allegedly discriminating against Jewish people in its hiring practices.
“We reserve the right to remove any staff member who dispels antiBlackness, colorism, racism, white supremacy, zionism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, misogyny, ableism, and any/all other hateful/bigoted ideologies,” state UCLA’s Cultural Affairs Commission discrimination guidelines.
“By rejecting Jewish applicants and citing Zionism as a disqualifying factor, despite the applicants never explicitly referencing Zionism or their relationship to the State of Israel in their applications, Alicia Verdugo demonstrates their conflation of Judaism with Zionism,” the petition against the student government asserts.
“In doing so, they have intentionally created a correlation between Jewish and Zionist identities to systematically discriminate against Jews,” the complaint continues.
Previously, the school’s chapter of the conservative student group, Young America’s Foundation (YAF), sued UCLA for allegedly shutting down a pro-Israel event they had intended on hosting.
“UCLA repeatedly ignored requests for information, withheld paperwork approvals, prevented Plaintiffs from effectively advertising in advance of the event, and engaged in other bureaucratic delay tactics,” the lawsuit stated.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of California, Los Angeles for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
