While the UCLA community is gearing up for the NCAA Championship
tonight, police are preparing to be out in force in hopes of
quelling the types of illegal behavior that erupted into riots
after the UCLA men’s basketball team won its last title in
1995.
The Los Angeles Police Department has advised the university
that there will be a heavy police presence in Westwood tonight.
While neither LAPD nor university police has an estimate of the
number of officers who will be deployed, officials from both
departments said they will be dedicating much of their available
resources to the area.
There will be “absolutely zero tolerance” for
behavior such as throwing beer bottles, jumping on cars and public
intoxication, said Sgt. Peter Harris of LAPD.
“Any sign of civil unrest will be put down pretty
quickly,” Harris said. “Hopefully we will be
celebrating, but we need to do it smartly.”
University police will bring in additional officers from police
departments at other Univeristy of California campuses and the
California Highway Patrol, to bolster its numbers and help protect
university property, Sgt. Jim Vandenberg said.
“We’re here to make sure that everyone has a good
time, a safe time, and that the interests of the university are
protected, and that the safety of the campus community is
ensured,” Vandenberg said.
When the men’s basketball team last won the NCAA
Championship in 1995, over 1,000 revelers stormed the streets in
Westwood Village and clashed with police, who did not expect the
postgame celebration to turn into a public disturbance.
Members of the crowd climbed traffic lights and trees, chanted
the fight song and overturned a van from an L.A. radio station.
It took more than 200 riot police ““ armed with tear gas,
mace and rubber bullets ““ to subdue the crowd in Westwood.
LAPD arrested 15 people on charges of public intoxication and
assault on police officers, 20 people were treated for minor
injuries at the UCLA Medical Center Emergency Room and seven police
officers sustained injuries, according to the Daily Bruin
archives.
Police sealed off Westwood Village and declared an unofficial
curfew by closing campus buildings and ordering people to stay
indoors, but it nonetheless took hours to clear and secure the
area.
“It’s too bad we didn’t have more uniformed
officers in Westwood earlier, but we didn’t, and you
can’t always anticipate things before they happen,” an
LAPD spokesman told The Bruin for a April 5, 1995 article, two days
after the championship game.
Students reported being hit by police batons, and later
complained that law enforcement used excessive force, though police
denied those reports and said officers acted responsibly.
Law enforcement is using the events that transpired in Westwood
more than a decade ago to prepare its response.
“Obviously, we were probably not as prepared as we should
have been in ’95, and we are definitely prepared for whatever
may come tomorrow,” Sgt. Harris said.
Along with local law enforcement, Westwood businesses are
readying for a busy night.
Westwood bars are bringing in extra staff in anticipation of the
large crowds expected to show up at game time. The area outside
Maloney’s, a popular Westwood pub, was the center of the
ruckus in 1995.
LAPD will have undercover officers patrolling local bars and
outdoor areas of the Village where people may congregate.
Students, faculty and staff with valid BruinCards can also view
the game for free at Pauley Pavilion ““ underneath 11 national
championship banners ““ where it will be broadcast on the
scoreboard’s video screen.
With reports from Shaun Bishop, Bruin senior staff.