LA City Council calls for LAPD after-action report for UCLA and USC protest response
The Los Angeles City Council is asking for the Los Angeles Police Department to provide an after-action report of its response leading up to and during the UCLA and USC recent campus protests on the war in Gaza.
Both UCLA and USC leaders had called on law enforcement agencies, including the LAPD, L.A. County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol, to respond to the April and May protests.
Council members instructed the LAPD and the Office of Inspector General to report on how decisions were made, as well as to make recommendations to improve the department's policies.
Councilwoman Nithya Raman earlier introduced the motion, noting that there were hundreds of arrests for what she called non-violent offenses while at another campus there was no intervention where actual violence played out for several hours.
"I'm concerned that these divergent responses leave our communities with questions and particularly leave our communities wondering whether the response protesters may get from law enforcement depends on their politics rather than on their actions," Raman said.
She noted the council called for a similar after-action report following the George Floyd protests in 2020.
Students from USC and UCLA attended Tuesday's meeting, urging leaders to move forward with the after-action report and asked the council for amnesty for all students facing misdemeanor charges. Council President Paul Krekorian said the council doesn't have the power to drop charges.
Demonstrations at UCLA drew national attention on May 1, when more than 200 people were arrested as police officers in full riot gear dismantled an encampment set up on campus by pro-Palestinian protesters. A day earlier, violent clashes broke out at the encampment and some were tear gassed.
The chief of the UCLA Police Department stepped down temporarily May 22, following criticism of the university's response to campus protests.
At USC, Los Angeles Police Officers ordered the protesters to disperse April 24, and said those who don't disperse face arrest. Encampments were cleared and 93 people were arrested for trespassing during the protests, according to the LAPD.
