UCLA police chief reassigned following mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters ( www.reuters.com )

The police chief for the University of California at Los Angeles has been removed from his post three weeks after campus officials came under fire for their handling of a violent, overnight mob attack on pro-Palestinian activists encamped at UCLA.

John Thomas, who was formally named head of the UCLA police force in January after a year as interim chief, has been "reassigned temporarily, pending an examination of our security processes," Vice Chancellor Mary Osako said in a statement on Wednesday.

Thomas and other university officials, as well as the Los Angeles Police Department, drew sharp criticism for their response to violence that flared at UCLA between pro-Palestinian activists and a group who attacked them late on the night of April 30.

Reacting to Thomas' removal, the police union representing 250 officers who patrol all 10 UC campuses issued a statement questioning whether university administrators had followed existing protest and crowd-control protocols.

"The UCLA administration owns the failure of any protest response, and the public should reject their attempts to shift blame to law enforcement," said Wade Stern, president of the Federated University Peace Officers Association.