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LAPD report finds police failed to coordinate amid Palestine solidarity encampment

LAPD officers form a line in Dickson Plaza during the Palestine solidarity encampment in the spring. A new report found that LAPD lacked coordination and resources in their activity during the encampment. (Myka Fromm/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Gabby Jamall

Nov. 13, 2024 10:37 p.m.

This post was updated Nov. 14 at 11:31 p.m.

A draft LAPD report Nov. 5 found policing agencies failed to coordinate in response to the UCLA Palestine solidarity encampment.

The report, written by then-Interim Chief of Police Dominic Choi, reviewed the role LAPD played in the police response to protests at UCLA between April 24 and May 7. The report also discusses the coordination between LAPD and other agencies – including UCPD, California Highway Patrol, Culver City Police Department, Beverly Hills Police Department, Santa Monica Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department – involved in responding on campus.

The report came in response to an instruction from the LA City Council, said LAPD’s director for the Office of Constitutional Policing and Policy Lizabeth Rhodes in a Nov. 5 Police Commission meeting. However, she added in the meeting that LAPD always submits after-action reports when “unusual occurrences” occur.

According to the report, a failure of coordination between agencies on campus led to LAPD officers feeling “rushed,” with conflicting orders and disorganized planning.

UCLA “distanced itself” from LAPD in response to the 2020 defund the police movement, following the LAPD’s use of a UCLA parking lot during the protests, according to the report.

[Related: UCLA-leased Jackie Robinson Stadium facilities used by LAPD to detain protestors]

In a statement published June 4, 2020, the university said it would not allow LAPD to use campus property to process arrests or organize squads until protocols were established.

Rhodes said in the meeting that the report reflects the limited role LAPD had in the UCLA campus response compared to other agencies.

“In general the LAPD’s role was to support UCLA Police Department (UCLAPD) and provide for the personal safety and security of the UCLAPD and California Highway Patrol (CHP) around the perimeter of the protests,” the report said.

According to data from the Office of the LA City Controller, around 590 LAPD officers were present on UCLA’s campus between April 30 and May 3.

[RELATED: UCLA’s contracts with CHP, LAPD reveal costs associated with police on campus]

Also included in the report is a timeline of events on the UCLA campus between April 25 and May 7, outlining the communication between various police departments as well as the different police response measures.

The report explains how on the night of April 30 – when aggressors attacked the Palestine solidarity encampment – UCPD called for mutual aid units from LAPD and CHP around 30 minutes after 911 calls from community members began coming through in large numbers. However, the report said there was hesitation to fully clear the crowds until 2:43 a.m. May 1 because of a lack of planning and resources.

[RELATED: Pro-Israel counter-protesters attempt to storm encampment, sparking violence]

Rhodes said in the meeting that although LAPD was a part of the multiagency Mobile Field Forces tasked with separating the protesters and counter-protesters in the early hours of May 1, it was not in a position to take further action.

“We were not the planning entity nor did we have enough resources at the time to be effective,” she said during the meeting.

The review also provided recommendations for the LAPD to implement, including a more clearly delineated procedure for inter-agency cooperation, such as when to allow for a “command takeover” by an outside agency and better communication with UCPD to navigate the campus. Additionally, the report recommended more transparency measures and in-depth training for officers on “the use of force.”

There is a need for “cooperation and coexistence” between the different agencies, particularly UCPD and LAPD, going forward as similar on-campus occurrences may occur given the political climate in the country, said President of the Board of Police Commissioners Erroll Southers during the police commission meeting.

Rick Braziel, associate vice chancellor for campus safety, said in an emailed statement that the university is considering the report and its discoveries as UCLA looks to improve its campus security measures and relations with LAPD.

“We are reviewing the findings and recommendations of the Los Angeles Police Commission’s report,” he said in the statement. “Meanwhile, both UCLA and the University of California Office of the President are conducting separate reviews of the events that took place last spring, and UCLA has already been implementing a host of measures to improve campus safety.”

UCPD did not respond separately to a request for comment. CHP also declined to comment on the report.

The report was approved by the Board of Police Commissioners in the meeting Nov. 5 and will be sent to the City Council for potential policy implementation. Rhodes said during the police commission meeting that reports such as this are important to ensure LAPD fulfills its mission statement of “quality through continuous improvement.”

“The department (LAPD) tries to self-assess and therefore address any deficiencies or, in this case, things that could go better even if they weren’t deficiencies,” she said.

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Gabby Jamall
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