LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of California board of regents approved Thursday additional non-lethal weapons requested by UCLA police, which handled some of the nation's largest student protests against the Israel-Hamas war.
Clashes between protesters and counterprotesters earlier this year on the campus led to more than a dozen injuries, and more than 200 people were arrested at a demonstration the next day.
The equipment UCLA police requested and the board approved included pepper balls and sponge rounds, projectile launchers and new drones. The board also signed off on equipment purchase requests for the nine other police departments on UC campuses.
Student protesters at the regents meeting were cleared from the room after yelling broke out when the agenda item was presented.
Faculty and students have criticized UCLA police for their use of non-lethal weapons in campus demonstrations, during which some protesters suffered injuries.
During public comment, UCLA student association representative Tommy Contreras said the equipment was used against peaceful protesters and demonstrators.
“I am outraged that the University of California is prioritizing funding for military equipment while slashing resources for education,” Contreras said. “Students, staff and faculty have been hurt by this very equipment used not for safety but to suppress voices.”
California law enforcement agencies are required by state law to submit an annual report on the acquisition and use of weapons characterized as “military equipment.” A UC spokesperson called it a “routine” agenda item not related to any particular incidents.
“The University’s use of this equipment provides UC police officers with non-lethal alternatives to standard-issue firearms, enabling them to de-escalate situations and respond without the use of deadly force,” spokesperson Stett Holbrook said.
Many of the requests are replacements for training equipment, and the drones are for assisting with search and rescue missions, according to Holbrook. The equipment is “not military surplus, nor is it military-grade or designed for military use," Holbrook said.
UCLA police are requesting 3,000 more pepper balls to add to their inventory of 1,600; 400 more sponge and foam rounds to their inventory of 200; eight more “less lethal” projectile launchers; and three new drones.
The report to the regents said there were no complaints or violations of policy found related to the use of the military equipment in 2023.
History professor Robin D.G. Kelley said he spent an evening with a student in the emergency room after the student was shot in the chest during a June 11 demonstration.
“The trauma center was so concerned about the condition of his heart that they kept him overnight to the next afternoon after running two echocardiograms,” Kelley said the day after the student was injured. “The student was very traumatized.”
UC's systemwide director of community safety Jody Stiger told the board the weapons were not to be used for crowd control or peaceful protests but “life-threatening circumstances” or violent protests where “campus leadership have deemed the need for law enforcement to utilize force to defend themselves or others.”
FILE - Police advance on demonstrators on the UCLA campus May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
FILE - Police stage on the UCLA campus after nighttime clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Polls opened in Greenland for early parliamentary elections Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks control of the strategic Arctic island.
The self-governing region of Denmark is home to 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, and occupies a strategic North Atlantic location. It also contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.
Unofficial election results should be available soon after polls close at 2200 GMT Tuesday, but they won’t be certified for weeks as ballot papers make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.
While the island has been on a path toward independence since at least 2009, a break from Denmark isn’t on the ballot even though it’s on everyone’s mind. Voters on Tuesday will instead elect 31 lawmakers who will shape the island’s debate on when and if to declare independence in the future.
The single polling station in Greenland ’s capital city, Nuuk, is ready.
This big Arctic island with a tiny population holds early parliamentary elections Tuesday that are being closely watched. U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear he wants to take control of the region that occupies a strategic North Atlantic location and contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy.
Now, Greenlanders are debating the best way to ensure they control their future.
“I think most of us have been scared since the new year because of (Trump’s) interest,” Pipaluk Lynge, a member of parliament from the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit party, told The Associated Press. “So we’re really, really looking to Europe right now to see if we could establish a stronger bond with them to secure our sovereign nation.”
Opinion polls show most Greenlanders favor independence.
Most say they don’t dislike Americans, pointing to the good relations they have with the local Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, where U.S. military personnel have been stationed since 1951.
But Greenlanders show no sign of wanting to become Americans. Even some of Trump’s biggest fans cling to the principle that they should control their destiny. That includes Gerth Josefsen, a 53-year-old fisherman from Nuuk who sports a MAGA hat and is proud to have visited Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home.
Their mantra is that Greenland is open for business, but not for sale.
“The situation has changed because of Trump and because of the world,” said Doris Jensen, representative of the social democratic Siumut party who said she has always favored independence, “So we have decided in our party that we have to do (it) more quickly.”
Trump’s attention has transformed the deeply local process of democracy. Suddenly, the presence of journalists from as far away as Japan and Croatia are reminders that these are far from normal times.
After candidates’ final televised debate at a school auditorium in Nuuk, Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede was greeted by about 75 supporters who were almost outnumbered by photographers and cameramen.
“All these reporters are frightening to us,’’ said Aviaja Sinkbaek, who works at the school. “It means that something must be happening soon.”
She added: “I wonder what Trump has up his sleeve.”
Politics in Greenland have a different rhythm. Debates during campaigning rarely got heated. People who became too animated were asked to step outside. Issues included building a skilled workforce and how to decorate the new airport, which opened a runway long enough to handle jumbo jets in November.
On Tuesday, the capital’s lone polling station at the Nuuk sports hall will have political parties pitching tents outside, with campaigners offering hot drinks and Greenlandic cake -- a raisin-laced bread served with butter -- in hopes of swaying voters.
A bus will circle the city of about 20,000 people, offering rides.
Certifying results will take weeks as ballot papers make their way to Nuuk. That’s because there are no roads connecting communities across the island’s 2.16 million square kilometers (836,330 square miles), which make Greenland the world’s 12th biggest country.
Now the vast size has drawn outsize attention.
Greenlanders know what they have. They hope the rare earth minerals will help diversify an economy where government jobs account for 40% of employment.
But the government has imposed strict rules to protect the environment on the island, most of which is covered by ice year-round. The harsh atmospheric conditions raise questions about whether extracting them is commercially feasible.
Hurricane-strength gusts over the weekend triggered warnings for boats and building materials to be securely tied down. As the wind howled like a revving jet engine, local people retreated to their homes to play board games.
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman votes during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman carries her ballot during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People stay in line to receive their ballots during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People vote during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A man installs a political placard for the upcoming elections in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Carl Fleischer, 59, receives his ballot during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Carl Fleischer, 59, votes during early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Monday, Greenland, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Carl Fleischer, 59, votes during early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman reads her ballot during an early voting for Greenlandic parliamentary elections at the city hall in Nuuk, Greenland, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
