The campus police chief at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been removed from his post following a violent, hours-long attack on a pro-Palestinian camp on campus during which security guards did not intervene.
UCLA officials said Director John Thomas has been temporarily reassigned while the university investigates its security processes.
Thomas had faced intense criticism for the university's delayed response to brawls that broke out on the night of April 30, in which people were punched and kicked with sticks, objects were thrown and chemicals were sprayed into the air. Many of the perpetrators of violence did not appear to be students.
No arrests were made after Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived on the scene.
Universities canceled in-person classes the next day, postponed midterm exams and scrambled to respond to the bloody violence that erupted overnight.
Vice Provost for Strategic Communications Mary Osako said in a statement that Gawyn Gibson has been appointed acting chief of campus police. Gibson was the university's director of operations, according to the school's website.
“UCLA has established a new Office of Campus Safety to lead a thorough review of our security processes with the goal of improving the well-being and safety of our community,” Osako said.