NYPD Body Camera Video Shows Dramatic Hamilton Hall Standoff at Columbia University – Over 100 Arrests Made

NYPD body camera video released Thursday shows heavily armed officers storming the student-occupied Hamilton Hall building at Columbia University, where more than 100 people were arrested during the attack. – this week.

The 7-minute clip begins with NYPD officers approaching the hallway steps, their shadows growing larger on the sidewalk as a group of protesters, arms linked behind a Palestinian flag, sings: “We will not be moved.”

Loud bangs and crashes are heard as officers in riot gear try to enter through the chained front door, clearing metal barricades and other debris from their path. . At one point, an officer shouts, “Tie-ties! Team 2, violators!”, and a small scuffle ensues as the NYPD works to clear the gang from the front steps.

Officers are seen using a torch to cut the chain from the door. They break it down, but still can’t open the door because of a heavy barrier against it from the inside. The police try to attack him. They cannot enter. Then they get a saw.

That will do the job.

However, once inside the front lobby, the officers encounter another chained door and another heavy barricade. The saw and torch come out again. Once the doors are open, activists can be heard singing behind a mountain of chairs on a table, protected by a metal fence with chains. The NYPD also removes that block.

“Flash bang, over! We’ll have a bang,” an officer shouts as protesters cheer. Several large explosions are then heard while flash bangs, or distraction devices, are used. They are used to harassing protestors when the police come forward.

Finally, the last barricade falls to the ground with a crash and the agents get inside. They will meet protesters with signs and headscarves. Some push, but more deny, as officials order protesters to “stay down.” A row of protesters can be seen with their legs crossing the wall, with their hands above their heads or tied to the person next to them.

The NYPD has not released body camera video of the operation in which officers climbed a ladder truck and broke through a second-story window, which is how they first gained access to the building. However, video taken by news cameras shows the large truck arriving at the window with dozens of officers in single file. They come in, one by one.

Authorities have said three bystanders were reported with minor injuries. It was not clear who suffered those injuries or how they happened: in a stampede, in a confrontation with the police or in some other way. In total, 109 people were arrested, including between 40 and 50 people who were in the room. Those in the room are charged with theft, burglary and criminal mischief. The Manhattan district attorney’s office says it is reviewing the charges.

The NYPD has said Hamilton Hall is now the crime scene.

A day ago, a large crowd gathered in Chinatown near the intersection of Mott Street and Worth Street to welcome protesters who were processed and released from the nearby courthouse and NYPD headquarters. Some of the defendants spoke to the media after they were released.

“I was drumming on the sidewalk and the police started approaching quickly,” said Fernando Bobis, an activist who was arrested. “Two officers hit me. They put my hands behind me and tied me up brutally.”

Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban say the police showed incredible restraint and commend them for their efforts. University President Minouche Shafik said she had no choice but to call the NYPD again after the body camera video shows a destructive entry into Hamilton Hall.

There have been calls for Shafik to resign over his handling of the protests. The Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors on Thursday called a vote of no confidence against the administration.

Anti-war protests are increasing in New York and elsewhere

At the same time they broke into Hamilton Hall, the officers were busy dismantling a complaint at City College of Manhattan. Nearly 200 people were arrested there. A dozen more were arrested at a protest on the Fordham-Lincoln Center campus Wednesday night, and nearly 30 were arrested overnight at Stony Brook University.

Police have searched college campuses across the United States over the past two weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war there. the Gaza. There have been clashes and more than 1,000 arrests. In rarer cases, university officials and protest leaders have reached an agreement to prevent disruption of campus life and upcoming graduation ceremonies.

Even as protests in New York City subside, demonstrations at universities in other states are increasing.

Hundreds of people was arrested at UCLA overnight during a violent crackdown on a protest there early Thursday morning.

President Joe Biden addressed the national protests on Thursday, affirming the right to free speech with a warning: “but that doesn’t mean anything goes. “

The protests on Columbia’s campus began in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7. The militants killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took around 250 hostages. Israel, which has vowed to end Hamas, has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the region’s Ministry of Health.

As ceasefire negotiations appeared to be gaining momentum, it was unclear whether these talks would lead to an easing of protests.

Israel and its supporters have called anti-Semitic protests to the university, and critics of Israel say they are using those accusations to silence the opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making anti-Semitic comments or threatening violence, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defended Palestinian rights and protested the war.