UCLA reassigns campus police chief after violence at pro-Palestinian encampment

The campus police chief at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been removed from his post after drawing intense criticism for how he responded to pro-Palestinian student protests last month — including a violent attack on an encampment that raged for hours before law enforcement officers intervened.

"John Thomas has been reassigned temporarily, pending an examination of our security processes," Mary Osako, UCLA's vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement Wednesday.

Thomas faced criticism over an apparently slow response to the chaos that erupted at UCLA late April 30 after a mob attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment. In videos captured at the scene, counter-protesters could be seen beating people, hitting people with poles, spraying chemical irritants and setting off fireworks.

The clashes went on for hours before law enforcement officers arrived. The encampment was eventually taken down.

The news of Thomas' reassignment was first reported by the Daily Bruin, UCLA's student-run newspaper. "There’s been a lot going on and, I learned late yesterday that I’m temporarily reassigned from my duties as chief," Thomas said in a text message to the newspaper late Tuesday.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, Thomas said he did "everything I could" to provide security and keep students safe during the weeks of unrest on campus over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza provoked intense divides on college campuses across the U.S. The war and ensuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza have inspired large pro-Palestinian protests that in some cases were met with a law enforcement crackdown.

Osako did not specify Thomas' new role. She said Gawin Gibson had been named acting chief of police, effective Tuesday. Gibson was previously captain of the university's operations bureau, according to information on the campus police department website.

"UCLA created a new Office of Campus Safety that is leading a thorough examination of our security processes aimed at enhancing the wellbeing and safety of our community," Osako said, echoing a May 5 statement released by UCLA Chancellor Gene Bock.

Bock is expected to testify Thursday before a Republican-led House committee about the protests that roiled UCLA, according to an announcement from the panel. He will be joined by the presidents of Northwestern University and Rutgers University.