The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) is facing serious questions about its role in breaking up a Palestine solidarity protest at UCLA last spring — and about whether it told the truth about being there in the first place.
It all started when students set up a protest encampment on April 25, calling on the university to cut financial ties with companies linked to the Israeli military and reduce police presence on campus. Tensions ran high, and on April 30, counter-protesters attacked the encampment while police took hours to step in. By May 2, law enforcement agencies moved in to clear the site, arresting hundreds of demonstrators.
In the aftermath, several California police agencies — including the LAPD, California Highway Patrol, and local departments from Beverly Hills and Culver City — openly shared details about their involvement. But LASD? Not so much. Despite multiple requests from The Daily Bruin, the sheriff’s department repeatedly delayed and denied information about its role.
At one point, Julia Valdes, an acting captain for LASD, went so far as to claim the department’s deputies weren’t even there. “LASD deputies were not involved in the UCLA event,” she said in a February statement.
But there was a problem: loads of evidence said otherwise. Photos, eyewitness accounts, and statements from LA Mayor Karen Bass and UCLA’s own police department all confirmed that LASD officers had indeed been part of the police response.
So why the confusion? When confronted, LASD’s acting chief of special operations, Thomas Giandomenico, called it a “misinterpretation.” He admitted that LASD had sent two squads and provided backup, including transporting arrested protesters in two prison buses after a request for assistance from UCLA’s police.
Legal experts were alarmed by LASD’s earlier denials. Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel at the Student Press Law Center, didn’t hold back. “You have over 30 photos, lots of witnesses and other credible evidence showing that the Sheriff’s Department either has no clue what their deputies are up to or are illegally lying through their teeth,” he said.
This situation has raised concerns about government transparency. California’s Public Records Act requires agencies to share documents related to public business unless privacy or safety is at risk — and LASD never cited either reason when refusing to provide information. Hiestand stressed that this law depends on public officials being honest and forthcoming.
As the investigation continues, LASD’s shifting story leaves many wondering: What really happened at UCLA, and why was the truth so hard to get?
