UCLA police chief defends actions before on-campus clash

The UCLA police chief is facing growing scrutiny for what three sources told The Los Angeles Times was a string of serious security lapses before a mob attacked a pro-Palestinian student encampment this week.

But the chief, John Thomas, late Friday rejected those allegations and said he did “everything I could” to provide security and keep students safe during a week of strife that left UCLA reeling.

On the morning before a mob attackeda proPalestinian student encampment at UCLA on Tuesday, Thomas assured university leadership that he could mobilize law enforcement “in minutes” — a miscalculation from the three hours it took to actually bring in enough officers to quell the violence, according to the sources.

Days earlier, campus leadership had directed Thomas to create a safety plan that would protect the UCLA community after the encampment was put up and began drawing agitators, the sources said. The chief was told to spare no expense to bring in other UC police officers, offer overtime and hire as many private security officers as were needed to keep the peace.

But Thomas did not provide a plan to senior UCLA leadership — even after he was again asked to provide one after skirmishes broke out between Israel supporters and pro-Palestinian advocates at dueling rallies Sunday.

The account of Thomas’ actions leading up to the attack was provided by three sources who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Internal calls are growing for the police chief to step aside as University of California President Michael V. Drake initiates an independent review of UCLA’s response, the sources said.

Thomas, in an interview with The Times late Friday night, disputed the account as “just not true.”

He said he advised leadership from the beginning not to allow an encampment, since it violated campus rules against overnight camping and he feared it could lead to problems as he assessed other protests sweeping the country.

But university leadership, he said, decided to allow the tents “as an expression of students’ First Amendment rights” and directed that police not be included in any security plan. Under UC’s systemwide community safety plan, police are deployed as a last resort — guidance developed after UC Davis police pepper-sprayed peaceful protesters in 2011, setting off a firestorm of controversy and an internal review that changed campus practices.

As a result, Thomas said he developed a plan that relied on private security and made sure to alert the Los Angeles Police Department of the need to respond immediately should problems arise. The private security guards, who were not authorized to make arrests, were instructed to contact UCLA police if assistance was needed.

Thomas said he provided daily briefings to campus leadership on the latest situation, the number of resources, the response protocol and assigned roles for those deployed.

However, sources said that he was directed to deliver a written safety strategy outlining the response and preparation for various scenarios, such as a rally, skirmishes or violence — with the direction to do what was needed to keep the community safe — and that he failed to deliver.

He acknowledged that he did tell leadership that it would take just minutes to deploy police forces, but he said he was referring to a general response — not a force large enough to handle the size of the crowds that clashed that night.