The search for a new police chief at UCLA is underway after its former chief, John Thomas, left.
According to a statement posted on X by the UCLA Police Department on Wednesday, Thomas' last day was Tuesday.
“UCLA Police Captain Scott Scheffler will serve as interim police chief until a permanent chief is selected,” the statement read.
It’s unclear if Thomas quit or if he was fired.
Thomas was criticized for the way he and the department handled the pro-Palestinian demonstrations earlier this year. An independent report by 21st Century Policing Solutions released in November said that the UCLA Police Department “lacked sufficiently detailed plans for responding to oncampus emergencies requiring mutual aid, resulting in an ad hoc and ineffective response when administrators asked the Police Department to engage.”
Following the unrest, Thomas confirmed to the UCLA student-run newspaper, The Daily Bruin, that he had been temporarily reassigned.
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In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in May, Thomas said, “I did everything I could to increase the police presence that we couldn’t provide because of our small department.”
KNX News’ Jon Baird spoke with students on campus about Thomas’ leave.
“The initial thought is that, you know, anybody who's asleep at the wheel and matters of situations of importance, such as a protest and needs to atone for the situation,” one student said.
Another student said the police should have handled the demonstrations differently and that his leaving could be a fresh start for the department.
“Maybe, like, a rebranding after that,” she said.
KNX News has reached out to UCLA for further information.
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