Officers to live in dormitories during week of convention

By Timothy Kudo

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

About 800 California Highway Patrol officers are expected to
stay at UCLA residence halls in preparation for the upcoming
Democratic National Convention, housing official said.

Alfred Nam, associate director of housing, said the arriving
personnel, listed as “California state employees,” are
CHP officers, and food services managers at Rieber and Covel dining
halls confirmed they expect about 800 of the state employees to
arrive, starting Aug. 10.

Adrian Valencia, Hedrick Hall’s manager, said he is
prepared to house “overflow” from the other halls.

Housing director Michael Foraker and the CHP declined to
comment.

A large law enforcement presence is expected throughout L.A.
during the convention.

“Students and residents will see more officers on the
road,” said Sgt. Rhett Price, a CHP spokesman.

Nam said discussion of the housing arrangement was not being
disclosed to the public for safety reasons.

But Kevin Rudiger, a spokesman for the Direct Action Network,
one of the main organizers of the DNC protests, and a UCLA graduate
student in urban planning said knowing the location of the officers
wouldn’t impact their protest plans.

“We really want to sort of avoid getting into unnecessary
street fights with cops,” he said.

Nam said the CHP is being charged for housing, just like any
other group that comes to UCLA.

With reports from Michael Falcone and Linh Tat, Daily Bruin
Senior Staff.