This post was updated Oct. 9 at 1:03 a.m.

The UCLA Police Department appointed a new acting chief for the second time this year. 

In what appears to be his first public appearance as acting police chief, UCPD posted a video of Scott Scheffler on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday with the caption, “A message from Acting Chief Scheffler.” Scheffler replaced the previous acting chief Gawin Gibson, who was placed on administrative leave Sept. 27, according to a statement from UCLA Media Relations.

Scheffler previously worked as administrative bureau captain, department spokesperson and served on the Campus Safety Oversight Committee. He has been with UCPD – previously working as a dispatcher and detective – since 2003 and received an undergraduate degree from UCLA in mathematics/applied science. 

Gibson – who has been with UCPD for 28 years – served in the role for less than five months, after then-chief John Thomas was announced as “temporarily reassigned” in May. Thomas’ reassignment came after UCLA formed the Office of Campus Safety in May, headed by Rick Braziel, administrative vice chancellor for campus safety. In an earlier post to X, Braziel was pictured briefing UCPD officers for Oct. 7 protests on campus.

UCPD has come under fire this year for its response to policing protests on campus, including the May 1 sweep of the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA. Michael Sierra-Arévalo, a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, previously told the Daily Bruin that UCPD should have worked harder to de-escalate with protesters.

[Related: Law enforcement leadership structure at UCLA faces scrutiny in wake of encampment]

Gibson, Braziel and UCPD did not respond in time to requests for comment. UCLA Media Relations declined to comment on why the change was made or what impact it would have on the department, stating that the issue is a personnel matter.