US: Lieutenant criticises police report on clearing UCLA pro-Palestine encampment

A report released this week by California Highway Patrol, the agency responsible for clearing the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) pro-Palestine encampment on 2 May, argues that 57 “less lethal” rounds fired at protesters were justified.

Former police lieutenant Jeff Wenninger, who specialises in investigating officers’ use of force, criticised the report for having no evidence to back up its justification.

The report said that officers encountered “assaultive resistance” from students who threw “frozen water bottles, bottles containing urine and other unknown fluids, full 12 oz soda cans, pieces of plywood, wooden poles, and various sized fire extinguishers (full and emptied)".

It also alleged that officers were “sprayed with fire extinguishers and other unknown chemical irritants, causing temporary blindness and difficulty breathing".

Wenninger, alongside a second law enforcement expert who reviewed video footage recorded by the newspaper, CalMatters, found that the protesters did not appear to attack or threaten officers.

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