Law enforcement agencies, especially in the larger cities, have contingency plans in place to address civil unrest. The implementation of those plans, sadly, come from the orders of elected officials who hide in their offices.
The situation on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles is a perfect example. The law enforcement response involved a minimum of four agencies; Campus Police; Los Angeles Police, Los Angeles County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol. The University Police would have the primary jurisdiction and the additional agencies would have to be invited onto the campus.
The University Police Chief reports to the Chancellor of the University, who serves at the pleasure of the Board of Regents. The other agencies answer to an elected official who must answer to the voters. Each pf these people have their own agenda.
When finally given the word to clear the encampment, LAPD attempted to enter the area from the steps to the campus. The other side of the camp was blocked with a plywood wall posted by the protestors. Once inside the perimeter of the camp, the officers backed out the same way they entered. This was probably due to a human wall of protestors. The second attempt was made by breaking down the plywood and entering the camp. It took less than two hours for the camp to be broken with multiple arrests made.
It is difficult to complete any task when only one side has rules. Think of a basketball game where blocking the ball on its downward trajectory results in points for one team, but when the ball is blocked by the other team, there is no penalty.
It is interesting to hear that the protesters demand police be removed from their campus while decrying the police for not protecting them from counter-protestors. These are academic scholars, aren’t they?
For this to come to a close, colleges need to expel students who are in clear violation of the college rules. Actions with no consequences breed embolden the protestors to escalate activities.
No one is discussing the millions of dollars this lawlessness is costing the taxpayers. The average hourly salary of police officers in California is approximately fisty dollars. Even if none of the officers assigned to the demonstration are not on overtime of working an off day, the depletion of personnel to patrol the streets needs to be filled with people making one and one-half times their hourly rate. The school is only responsible for the salaries of their personnel.