California Highway Patrol Report on UCLA Protest Incident
A recently released report from the California Highway Patrol regarding the use of force during a protest at UCLA has sparked controversy and raised questions about police conduct. The report claims that officers acted appropriately when they used “less-lethal” rounds against pro-Palestinian protesters, but critics have pointed out the lack of evidence to support this assertion.
The Controversial Use of Force
The report stated that officers were met with aggressive resistance from protesters who were throwing objects such as frozen water bottles, bottles containing urine, and other items. However, a review of protest videos revealed that police were seen aiming at people’s heads and firing into crowds, actions that are prohibited by state law unless there is a threat to life or serious bodily harm.
Despite claims of facing threats from protesters, no evidence of such threats was observed in the video footage. This has raised concerns about the decision-making process of the officers involved in the incident.
Criticism of the Report
Law enforcement experts, including former LAPD lieutenant Jeff Weninger, have criticized the report for lacking transparency and failing to provide evidence to support the use of force. Weninger noted that the report did not meet all the required criteria under the law and described it as “nothing more than boilerplate.”
Weninger also highlighted a specific instance where an officer fired multiple bean bag rounds into the crowd, a tactic that is meant to target individual acts of violence rather than being used indiscriminately against a group of protesters.
Call for Accountability and Training
As the author of a bill aimed at limiting police use of “less-lethal” ammunition, lawmaker Lorena Gonzalez has called for accountability and better training for officers. She emphasized the need to ensure that crowd control measures at protests do not lead to unnecessary harm.
Overall, the incident at UCLA and the subsequent CHP report have highlighted the importance of transparency, accountability, and proper training in law enforcement agencies to prevent similar controversies in the future.
