"Why did you shoot us?" one shouted -- a reference to the less lethal rounds used at last spring's campus unrest.
CalMatters reported that Regent Jay Sures, chair of the compliance committee, showed little patience for what has become a common protest tactic.
Sures told them: "If you want to disrupt the meeting, you can disrupt the meeting. We're going to clear the room. It's not going to be productive. You're all going to waste your time. What I would suggest is you listen. If you have issues, you can send letters for regents."
He then called on UC police to declare an unlawful assembly and moved the committee to an adjoining room, where it swiftly approved the purchase of drones and ammunition such as pepper bullets and sponge rounds. There was no debate.
About an hour later, the full board approved the committee's recommendation, also without debate. The student protesters had cleared out by then, complying with police demands that they leave the area within three minutes.
Under a 2021 state law, all police agencies must seek approval from their governing boards to fund and use military equipment. UC says the weapons and ammo its police forces requested are all less lethal, even if by law they're classified as military equipment. However, campus departments have in their possession dozens of rifles and thousands of rounds of ammo, the system disclosed in its report.
