Last May, UC lawyers sought a restraining order to bar Matthew Harris from all campuses and to prevent him from coming near two individuals he allegedly threatened — a philosophy professor at another UC campus and a UCLA administrator.
To his students at UCLA, the warning signs about lecturer Matthew C. Harris seemed abundant and longstanding.
Though the indications of potential violence arrived Monday afternoon, it was not until more than eight hours later, just before midnight, that UCLA tweeted all classes would be held remotely “out of an abundance of caution.” Campus police were “actively working with out-of-state & federal agencies,” the tweet said.
Messages began circulating about 3:30 p.m. Monday, when Sherrilyn Roush, philosophy department chair, sent an alert to department members that Harris had begun directing threats at UCLA. She said campus police and behavioral specialists were “investigating with urgency.” It was not until 11:57 p.m. that UCLA canceled in-person classes for Tuesday. The alert said campus officials “do not have specific information that this individual is in CA,” adding: “Out of an abundance of caution, all classes will be held remotely Feb 1. We will keep you updated.” By Tuesday morning, UCLA sent another notice, saying that the individual who had made the threats was outside the state and “under observation.
“The threats made yesterday were frightening for many of us and caused our community to feel vulnerable at an already challenging time,” said Suzanne L. Seplow, assistant vice chancellor for student development and health, and Michael Deluca, assistant vice chancellor for campus life. Harris had been on law enforcement’s radar since at least last spring, when the LAPD’s mental evaluation unit made contact with him, Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. Police began to monitor his whereabouts after he was released from a mental health facility, according to a court filing.
The university attorney described behavior by Harris that “steadily escalated from reported incidents of conduct with students involving graphic materials of a sexual and violent nature which resulted in him being placed on investigatory leave ... to now outright death threat to petitioner’s employee.”
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