UC Berkeley Prof Blasts Response To Threat That Led To Lockdown

BERKELEY, CA — A UC Berkeley professor has taken aim at the university’s response to a threat that led to last week's campus-wide lockdown.

Prof. William J. Drummond in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed published Monday criticized the university for inadequately preparing for active shooters that's part of routine training in many campus settings.

He also questioned the decision to issue shelter-in-place orders when the person behind the threats was located off campus.

It is still not known who issued shelter orders, which is problematic, Drummond argues.

Before last week, UC Berkeley hadn’t been shuttered in more in 50 years.

Former Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1970 closed all UC and CSU schools from May 6-10 in the aftermath of the Kent State University anti-Vietnam War protest in which the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a group of demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine.

“We now know that the person taken into custody was arrested off campus. If that’s the case, why was it necessary to shut down the whole university?” Drummond wrote.

“And who gave the order? Nobody’s name was attached to it. UC Police Department Chief Margo Bennett, as it happens, is set to retire in June, and a search is under way for her successor.”

UC Berkeley was under shelter-in-place orders for around four hours Thursday after the university received what officials described as "credible campus-wide threat."

The campus reopened Friday, a day after the lockdown led to the cancellation of all classes and campus activities, but the circumstances surrounding the disturbance remain unclear.

Authorities lifted the lockdown at around 1:40 p.m. after the suspect behind the threats was located, officials said.

The suspect has not been identified and it is not known whether the suspect was armed or if any arrests have been made in connection with the case.

“But the peaceful ending to the siege is hardly an occasion for UC Berkeley officials to take a bow,” Drummond wrote.

“The whole affair was poorly handled. Many questions remain unanswered. The Regents of University of California and possibly state legislators should seek some answers.”

Drummond was also critical of the university’s failure to update the community on developments throughout the day that left many who were locked in classrooms, and labs in the dark.

Chancellor Carol Christ cited public safety concerns and protecting the integrity of the investigation for the university’s decision to withhold information.

But Christ was AWOL throughout the day until sending a 5 p.m. email acknowledging “the alarm and the anxiety” the lockdown caused, Drummond alleged.

“There were no updates throughout the incident. People locked in offices, classrooms and labs for hours on end had no idea what was happening,” Drummond wrote.

“The Chancellor, Carol Christ, was not heard from until 5 p.m.”

Thursday’s incident illustrates the university’s inadequate readiness for active shooters that are part of today’s world.

Drummond in 2016 as a UC Berkeley Academic Senate chair in 2016 urged the university to seek expert advice on preparing for an active shooter, providing contact information for a renowned expert.

Drummond cited Cal State Northridge as an example of an academic institution that’s taking the threat of active shooters seriously.

“But my appeal died in the vastness of the UC Berkeley administrative bureaucracy,” Drummond wrote.

Drummond compared the response to the empty rhetoric of pro-gun advocates that routinely call for “thoughts and prayers” in the aftermath of mass shootings.

“Campus leaders need to address this omission before somebody gets hurt,” Drummond wrote.

“It is not a question of whether the shelter-in-place warning will happen again, but when.”

Read more in The San Francisco Chronicle