UC Board Of Regents Approve UC Police Requests For Non-Lethal Rounds, Weapons

The University of California Board of Regents approved the requests of ten UC campus police departments on Thursday for double the amount of pepper ball and sponge rounds, as well as new drones and projectile launchers, following a tumultuous 2024 Spring semester where they faced violent protests on campuses.

In April and May earlier this year, California became the epicenter of mass pro-Palestinian protests. Encampments with sometimes hundreds of tents sprawled across campuses like UCLA and UC Irvine. Barriers were razed. Buildings were taken over. And subsequent arrests were dozens at a time. The May UCLA protest clocked in well over 200 arrests and the encampment being razed over a period of days. USC had 93 arrests during a protest. 80 at UC Santa Cruz. Even smaller colleges made nationwide news, with Cal Poly Humboldt students taking over 2 buildings on campus for a week that ended in 35 students being arrested.

In many cases, campus police had their work cut out for them, having to team with other law enforcement agencies to quell protests, retake buildings, and remove encampments. With the growing number of incidents, many campus police departments called for more of a stockpile. While UC has instilled many new rules this fall, including regarding legal protests and heightened punishments for out-of-control protests, many law enforcement officers on campus wanted to prepare further just in case more Palestinian protests broke out.

Wanting to keep the peace, ten campus police departments put in requests for more pepper balls and sponge rounds, as well as more projectile launchers and drones to help ensure the safety of students. UC spokesman Stett Holbrook said of the request that “The police requests are a routine agenda item not tied to protests or other particular incidents. All of the campus’s requests are for non-lethal alternatives to standard-issue firearms, enabling officers to de-escalate situations and respond without the use of deadly force. The requested items are essential for maintaining operational readiness, supporting ongoing training programs, and above all, ensuring public safety. Many of the requests are replacements for items used in training. The drones will be unarmed and used to assist first responders in enhancing public safety by providing an aerial perspective.”

A campus police request

As it is public law to report the inventory, buying, and overall use of military equipment, a public meeting over the matter was scheduled with the UC Board of Regents on Thursday on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. However, shortly after it began, Pro-Palestinian protesters barged in and began shouting at the police for shooting them with the rounds last year and questioning why they needed more. These protesters were quickly removed from the room.

Regent Jay Sures, unhappy at the disruption, said to the protesters being removed, “If you want to disrupt the meeting, you can disrupt the meeting. We’re going to clear the room. It’s not going to be productive. You’re all going to waste your time. What I would suggest is you listen. If you have issues, you can send letters for regents.”

While the meeting was likely to include debate on the matter, the disruption caused the meeting to be moved to another room without debate. Within an hour, everything was approved. While many had argued that the non-lethal rounds could potentially permanently hurt people being fired at, it was approved.

While many students and professors were unhappy at the request being approved, others were pleased at the result.

“The protesters last year, man, they made you feel really unsafe. The Jewish students were especially afraid of what would happen,” said Stan, a UCLA student. “I know the Regents said that this was routine, but between this and them really cracking down on protests, it feels a lot better now here, you know?”

Researcher Sandy Crane, who studies college protest movements, added that “The Palestinian protests went so far last year that Universities now have to prepare even more. Protests are one thing. You have a right to do that. But you have no right to vandalize, attack the police, take over buildings, set up encampments, or generally be a nuisance. Police are also now more willing to use force. They don’t want a repeat of last year. It’s been pretty quiet so far, and this approval today by the UC Board of Regents will help ensure that.”

As of Thursday, no major protests around the Palestinian War haven been on California campuses this semester.