'LEFT WITH NO CHOICE': COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER COPS STORM CAMPUS BUILDING TO DETAIN PROTESTERS

New York: Hundreds of New York Police Department (NYPD) officials stormed the Columbia University as campus protesters continued to occupy Hamilton Hall. Students have been occupying the hall since Monday night, tying doors shut with ropes and blocking entrances with furniture.

The officers broke a second-floor window to enter the occupied building, Hamilton Hall, then led demonstrators in zip ties onto law enforcement buses parked near campus.

Hundreds of police officers in riot gear arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University on Tuesday night, about 20 hours after protesters had seized a campus building, NYT reported.

Shortly after the NYPD began entering the campus grounds, Columbia University released a statement around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday following the start of the NYPD's operation on campus and moving on protesters occupying Hamilton Hall.

“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” the statement read.

It added, "The leadership team, including the Board of Trustees, met throughout the night and into the early morning, consulting with security experts and law enforcement to determine the best plan to protect our students and the entire Columbia community. We made the decision, early in the morning, that this was a law enforcement matter, and that the NYPD were best positioned to determine and execute an appropriate response."

"We believe that the group that broke into and occupied the building is led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University. Sadly, this dangerous decision followed more than a week of what had been productive discussions with representatives of the West Lawn encampment," the statement further said.

"We severely curtailed the number of people on Morningside campus starting Tuesday morning. Over the course of the day, we updated our community on access to campus buildings, and will continue to do so through the next few days," it added.

The police action happened on the 56th anniversary of a similar police action to quash an occupation of Hamilton Hall by students protesting racism and the Vietnam War.

2024-05-01T03:33:55Z dg43tfdfdgfd