Israel-Hamas War Protests: University of California Board of Trustees Approves New Weapons Request for Campus Police

LOS ANGELES — The University of California Board of Trustees on Thursday approved additional nonlethal weapons requested by UCLA police, which has handled some of the nation’s largest student protests against the war between Israel and Hamas.

Clashes between protesters and counter-protesters on campus earlier this year left more than a dozen people injured, and more than 200 people were arrested at a demonstration the following day.

Equipment requested by UCLA police and approved by the board included pepper and foam bullets, projectile launchers and new drones. The board also approved equipment purchase requests for the nine other UC campus police departments.

Student protesters at the regents’ meeting were ejected from the room after shouting broke out when the agenda item was presented.

Faculty and students have criticized UCLA police for using non-lethal weapons during campus protests, in which some demonstrators were injured.

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In a public statement, UCLA Student Union representative Tommy Contreras said the equipment was used against peaceful protesters and demonstrators.

“I am outraged that the University of California is prioritizing funding for military equipment while cutting resources for education,” Contreras said. “Students, staff and faculty have been harmed by this equipment used not for security but to muffle voices.”

California law enforcement agencies are required by law to submit an annual report on the acquisition and use of weapons designated as “military equipment.” A UC spokesperson called the item a “routine” agenda item, unrelated to specific incidents.

“The University’s use of this equipment provides UC police officers with non-lethal alternatives to standard firearms, allowing them to de-escalate situations and respond without resorting to deadly force,” spokesperson Stett Holbrook said.

According to Holbrook, most of the requests are for replacement equipment for training, and the drones are intended to assist in search and rescue missions. The equipment “is not military surplus, not military grade, not designed for military use,” Holbrook said.

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UCLA police are requesting 3,000 more pepper balls to add to their inventory of 1,600; 400 more sponge and foam rounds to add to their inventory of 200; eight more “less-lethal” projectile launchers; and three new drones.

The report to the regents said there were no complaints or policy violations regarding the use of military equipment in 2023.

History professor Robin DG Kelley said he spent an evening with a student in the emergency room after he was shot in the chest during a June 11 protest.

“The trauma center was so concerned about his heart that they kept him overnight until the next afternoon after doing two echocardiograms,” Kelley said the day after the student was injured. “The student was very traumatized.”

UC Community Safety Director Jody Stiger told the board that the weapons should not be used for crowd control or during peaceful protests, but in “life-threatening circumstances” or during violent demonstrations where “campus leadership has deemed it necessary for law enforcement to use force to defend themselves or others.”