The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed more than 200 people were arrested from the UCLA campus as officers tried to clear out the pro-Palestinian protesters’ encampment Thursday morning.
LAPD Interim Chief Dominic Choi confirmed a total of 210 people were arrested by the UCLA Police Department “for failure to disperse.”
“Last night, the Los Angeles Police Department was part of the unified command convened at the request of the UCLA Police Department,” Choi said in a social media posting. “ I am thankful there were no serious injuries to officers or protestors.”
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The LA County Public Defender's Office said its officials met with at least 132 people arrested from the Westwood campus.
Those who were arrested by authorities were taken to three facilities, including the LAPD Metro Detention Center and Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail.
“It was chaotic and scary,” Isaac Shih, a UCLA student who spent several hours behind bars in the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail, said. “[Officers] were unresponsive to the things we say, and they were trying to destroy everything we had - our tents and everything we had inside. They had no remorse or sympathy for us.”
An official from the Los Angeles County Public Defender's office said the group of arrestees appears to be a mix of students and faculty.
“It’s essential that the process of law and presumption of innocence is upheld,” Haydeh Takasugi, an assistant public defender for the county, said. “We are working to ensure that the rights of our clients are protected throughout this process.”
