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The University of California, Los Angeles, says it will change the school’s security operations in light of the violence at recent campus protests over the war in Gaza.
Chancellor Gene D. Block announced the move Sunday, saying it is clear that “urgent changes are needed in how we administer safety operations” in order to best protect the school community. He also committed to a “thorough investigation of our security processes.”
Block said oversight and management of the UCLA Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management is moving to a newly created Office of Campus Safety. The office’s leader will report directly to Block, the chancellor explained in a statement.
“It is clear that UCLA needs a unit and leader whose sole responsibility is campus safety to guide us through tense times,” Block said.
Block also announced that Rick Braziel, the former chief of the Sacramento Police Department, will lead the office as its associate vice chancellor. Braziel has more than 30 years of experience in public safety, served as an instructor in community policing, and has led reviews of law enforcement departments and police responses, the chancellor said.
Some context: The change comes after protesters calling for an end to the war in Gaza and the university’s divestment from Israel set up an encampment on UCLA’s campus.
School officials called in the police, who appeared to fire rubber bullets while clearing out the demonstrators.
Masked men were also seen attacking the pro-Palestinian encampment for hours without police intervention, punching, hitting and kicking the protesters, according to video from the scene and witness accounts.
Block acknowledged in his statement that recent events had “strained trust within our community,” but did not reference a specific incident.
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