Evander Ellis:UCLA police chief reassigned following criticism over handling of campus demonstrations

2025-05-06 17:39:50source:Devin Grosvenorcategory:Invest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Evander Ellispolice chief at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been reassigned following criticism over his handling of recent campus demonstrations that included a mob attacking a pro-Palestinian encampment.

Chief John Thomas was temporarily reassigned Tuesday “pending an examination of our security processes,” said Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications, in a statement released Wednesday.

The Daily Bruin reported late Tuesday that Thomas said in a text to the campus newspaper, “There’s been a lot going on and, I learned late yesterday that I’m temporarily reassigned from my duties as chief.”

Neither Osako nor Thomas identified his reassigned role.

The reassignment of Thomas follows UCLA’s May 5 announcement of the creation of a new chief safety officer position to oversee campus security operations.

Thomas told the Los Angeles Times in early May that he did “everything I could” to provide security and keep students safe during days of strife that left UCLA shaken.

But his response was roundly criticized and prompted Chancellor Gene Block to order a review of campus security procedures. Block then announced that Rick Braziel, a former Sacramento police chief, would lead a new Office of Campus Safety that will oversee the UCLA Police Department.

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“To best protect our community moving forward, urgent changes are needed in how we administer safety operations,” Block said in the May 5 statement.

Sporadic disruptions continued following the dismantling of a pro-Palestinian encampment and some 200 arrests on April 30.

Block has been summoned to Washington by a Republican-led House committee to testify Thursday about the protests on the Los Angeles campus.

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