University Police Stocks Up On Weapons After Anti-Israel Protests Engulfed School

The University of California Board of Regents approved a request for additional non-lethal weapons from the Los Angeles campus police Thursday following massive pro-Palestinian protests that took place last school year.

The police at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) asked the board for an increased supply of pepper balls, non-lethal foam projectiles and new drones to aid in the dispersion of campus protests, according to the police department’s annual report. UCLA students’ response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel developed into some of the most intense pro-Palestinian protests in the country, which included a multi-week-long encampment on campus and resulted in multiple injuries, hundreds of arrests and canceled classes.

The weapons are only intended to be used during violent protests and under “life-threatening circumstances,” according to The Associated Press.