UCLA police chief who was criticized over Gaza protest violence is out

WASHINGTON - The police chief for the University of California at Los Angeles, who was criticized for the handling of a violent mob attack in May on pro-Palestinian activists encamped at UCLA, has left the campus police department.

"December 10, 2024, was former UCLA Police Chief John Thomas' last day with UCLA and the UCLA Police Department," the department said on Thursday.

UCLA Police Captain Scott Scheffler will serve as interim police chief until a permanent chief is selected, the department added.

The statement did not give details on the reason for his departure. Thomas could not immediately be reached for comment. He told the Los Angeles Times in May he did "everything I could" to provide security and keep students safe.

Thomas was "reassigned temporarily" three weeks after the assault in May, pending an examination of security processes, according to UCLA.

In one of the most violent incidents from U.S. protests related to Israel's war in Gaza, masked assailants, described by officials as "instigators," stormed the tent camp of pro-Palestinian protesters with clubs and poles. The encampment occupants said fireworks were also hurled at them.

The situation continued for at least three hours into the early morning of May 1 before police moved in and restored order.

California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the "limited and delayed campus law enforcement response" as unacceptable.

The following night, hundreds of state and local police officers raided the protest encampment, arresting over 200 people.

The disturbances had thrust UCLA to the center of mounting weeks of tensions at dozens of U.S. college campuses, which saw protests against Israel's war that has killed almost 45,000 in the last 14 months in Gaza, according to the local health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes accusations that Israel denies.

Israel's assault followed a deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants which killed 1,200, according to Israeli tallies, and sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Anti-war protesters have opposed Washington's support for Israel and the humanitarian situation in Gaza where nearly the entire population has been displaced and a hunger crisis exists.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)