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Black History Month 2025

Former Chief John Thomas departs UC Police Department

John Thomas is pictured. Thomas was previously the UCPD chief of police but has since left the university. His last day was Dec. 10. (Courtesy of UCLA)

By Dylan Winward

Dec. 11, 2024 9:21 p.m.

The UCLA Police Department confirmed Wednesday that its former police chief has left the department.

In a statement released on X, UCPD said Tuesday was former Chief John Thomas’ last day leading the department. Thomas was previously “temporarily reassigned” from his role as chief of police, with Gawin Gibson temporarily serving as acting chief from May to September.

[Related: UCLA Police Chief John Thomas ‘temporarily reassigned’ from duties]

However, Gibson was also later replaced as chief, with Captain Scott Scheffler being appointed as the acting chief of police. UCPD said in the statement that Scheffler will continue to lead the department while they search for a new chief of police. 

Scheffler, who received an undergraduate degree from UCLA in mathematics/applied science, has been at UCPD since 2003. He was previously the department’s spokesperson, its administrative bureau captain and was on the Campus Safety Oversight Committee.

Around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, the department updated its website to replace a welcome message previously addressed from Thomas with Scheffler’s signature. Although the message largely remained the same, it had been updated to include a reference to UCLA’s ranking as the nation’s top public university. 

“As the nation’s nation’s No. 1 public university, our highest priority is to ensure for the safety of students, faculty, staff and campus visitors, and to support of the university’s mission of education, research and service,” Scheffler said in the welcome message.

The department is also responsible for emergency medical services and community service officers, Scheffler said in the welcome message.

Scheffler said in an emailed statement to The Bruin that he was honored to have been appointed to the role. 

“The UCLA Police Department is committed to serving the University community and ensuring a safe environment for all, and these staffing changes won’t impact our operations,” he said in the statement. “I am honored to be serving as Interim Chief of Police, and I’m immensely proud of all the UCLA Police Department personnel who work tirelessly to accomplish these goals.”

UCPD updated its organization chart Wednesday evening to reflect changes to department operations. 

Gibson was listed on the updated directory as the operations bureau captain, with Jeffrey Chobanian listed as the acting administrative bureau captain. However, Scheffler did not immediately respond to questions about Gibson’s role with the organization. 

Thomas, a UCLA alumnus, was appointed as chief in January after previously serving as interim chief since December 2022. When he took office, he told The Bruin he hoped to help UCPD “reconnect with our student population and the community at large” and increase transparency when it comes to policing operations.

While an undergraduate at UCLA, Thomas served as editor-in-chief of NOMMO – a historically Black student publication, which is published by UCLA student media. Thomas did not respond to requests for comment.

Permanent police chiefs are selected with the aid of a search committee, with Thomas having been appointed by a committee chaired by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Monroe Gorden Jr., which included the presidents of the Undergraduate Students Association Council and the Graduate Student Association. UCLA has not announced the creation of a new search committee as of Wednesday evening.

UCLA has previously faced criticism for policing on campus. 

On April 30, counter-protesters attacked the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA with fireworks and tear gas around 10:50 p.m. However, despite UCLA confirming law enforcement had been called May 1 at 12:12 a.m., police did not intervene until more than two hours later.

Thomas was additionally criticized by UCPD’s dismantling of the encampment, in collaboration with other agencies, the next day. The sweep used flash bangs, rubber bullets, batons and tear gas on students and led to the arrests of over 200 people.

[Related: How law enforcement mishandled encampment sweep at UCLA, according to experts]

21st Century Policing Solutions – an independent consulting firm – said in a recent report commissioned by the UC Board of Regents that UCLA has experienced “institutional paralysis” dealing with expression activities on campus in the spring. The report stated, though, that the UCLA Police Department was excluded from crucial planning decisions.

UCLA spent nearly $12 million on policing and law enforcement relating to spring protests, according to documents released in July.

[Related: Report analyzes officials’ roles regarding encampment response, proposes reforms

While UCPD was previously housed under Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck, the department now reports into Rick Braziel, the associate vice chancellor of campus safety. In a campuswide email announcing the change, former Chancellor Gene Block said the change was an urgent response to campus needs.

“It is clear that UCLA needs a unit and leader whose sole responsibility is campus safety to guide us through tense times,” Block said in the May email.

When asked for information about the changes, a UCPD spokesperson referred The Bruin to Braziel, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Dylan Winward | News editor
Winward is the 2024-2025 News editor and an Arts, Copy, Photo, PRIME and Sports contributor. He was previously the 2023-2024 features and student life editor. Winward is a third-year English and statistics student from London in the United Kingdom.
Winward is the 2024-2025 News editor and an Arts, Copy, Photo, PRIME and Sports contributor. He was previously the 2023-2024 features and student life editor. Winward is a third-year English and statistics student from London in the United Kingdom.
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