UCLA considers SWAT team unnecessary
By Lucia Sanchez
Daily Bruin Staff
College campuses are not immune to violent acts of crazed
individuals. Four years ago, five University of Florida students
were killed in their apartments by a serial killer stalking the
college campus.
In 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, a disgruntled
graduate student climbed to the top of the university tower and
randomly shot and killed 11 students.
These violent acts were not particular to Texas and Florida.
Today, similar incidents threaten college students across the
nation.
While both the Florida and Texas campuses were devastated by the
events, neither instituted a special response unit or a SWAT team,
unlike UC Berkeley.
"The Austin police are so convenient, we would just use
them,"said University of Texas police Lt. Gerald Watkins.
The university police at UT have no plans for a special response
unit because of their working relationship with the local police
force and the added expense of the team, Watkins said.
"We have a pretty good understanding between the two of us, that
we would just use them in that (type of) situation," Watkins
added.
UCLA Police Chief Clarence Chapman said he sees a similar
situation at UCLA where the Los Angeles Police Department is called
in to deal with highly volatile situations. Last spring, riot
police were called in when unrest erupted at the Faculty Center
during the Chicano studies protest. In addition, recent cuts in the
police budget have discouraged university police from planning a
SWAT team.
Berkeley’s SWAT team has called attention to the threat of
violence on college campuses, and the need for specialized forces
which can respond to tense, aggressive situations like a hostage
crisis or terrorist activity.
But, UCLA police said this campus doesn’t have a history like
Berkeley’s, and therefore a SWAT team isn’t necessary.
"We don’t need a SWAT team if you look back on the history (of
UCLA) and look for incidents where we would have used it," said
Chapman.
Students have been killed on campus. In 1969, two student
members of the Black Panther Party were killed in Campbell Hall,
marking the only time in UCLA history that students were killed on
campus.
High profile visits by such figures as President Clinton, Vice
President Al Gore and Shimon Peres seemingly present situations
where special police teams could be crucial.
But Chapman pointed out that many distinguished visitors usually
bring their own specially trained security forces. A UCLA response
would be secondary to these teams, Chapman said.
Although Chapman said he feels the university police department
doesn’t need a SWAT team, he admitted that if the budget allowed,
he would train existing officers in special tactics.
"In the future if we are supported financially through our
budget, I would like to have one," said Chapman, adding that he
would also like to see canine and motorcycle units.