COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : UCLA : Bruins on the Right Side of the Law

The UCLA branch of the University of California Police Department was out in force at the Bruins’ football practice Thursday, with Chief Clarence Chapman leading seven members of the squad on the field.

Was this another incident, all too commonplace across the nation, of an athlete in trouble?

Just the opposite.

Three Bruins--offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden and linebackers Tommy Bennett and Tyrone Pierce--were being presented commendations for aiding the police in quieting a disturbance.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 15, after Midnight Madness, the start of basketball practice.

A party at Pierce’s Westwood apartment had turned into a potentially dangerous situation, a crowd of about 300 milling about, breaking bottles and refusing to disperse.

Sixteen members of the UCPD and a dozen LAPD officers responded.

With the crowd chanting defiant slogans, Pierce asked the police if he and several teammates could help calm the situation.

Appreciative of the offer, the police held back while Pierce, Ogden and Bennett moved into the crowd.

Thirty minutes later, the situation had been peaceably defused.

“We just did what was necessary,” Pierce said.

“We didn’t do anything anybody else wouldn’t have done,” Ogden said.

Of course, when you’re 6 feet 8 and 310 pounds, as is Ogden, your demands tend to carry more weight.

“I might be a little bit more effective,” Ogden said.

Do the players feel like heroes?

“We’re not heroes,” Bennett said. “We didn’t save anybody’s life. We were just good Samaritans.”