What to Know
- Police have swept through campuses across the U.S. over the last two weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza.
- There have been confrontations and well more than 1,000 arrests; at Columbia, 109 people were arrested Tuesday night as NYPD officers in riot gear stormed the occupied Hamilton Hall. The NYPD just released body camera footage of officers making entry through the front door
- The NYPD did not release bodycam footage of the Emergency Services Unit's breach through a second-floor window; the dramatic entry was captured live on TV as it happened
Dramatic bodycam video released by the NYPD Thursday shows heavily geared officers' breach of the formerly occupied Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, where more than 100 were arrested during a sweep this week.
The 7-minute clip begins with NYPD officers approaching the steps of the hall, their shadows growing larger on the pavement as a group of protesters, their arms linked behind a Palestinian flag, sing, "We shall not be moved."
Loud bangs and crashes are heard as officers with riot shields attempt to gain entry through the chained-shut front door, moving metal barricades and other debris out of their way. At one point, an officer yells, "Zip ties! Team 2, breachers!", and a small scuffle ensues as the NYPD works to clear the linked group from the front steps.
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Officers are seen using a torch to cut through the chain on the door. They bust that, but they still can't open the door because of a heavy barricade against it from the inside. Cops try ramming it. They can't get in. Then they get a saw.
That does the job.
Once inside the front vestibule, though, officers encounter another chained-shut door and another heavy barricade. Again, the saw and torch come out. Once the doors open, protesters are heard chanting behind a mountain of chairs on a table, protected by a chained metal fence. The NYPD cuts down that lock, too.
"Flash bang, over! Let's deploy a flash bang," an officer shouts as protesters yell. Several loud blasts are then heard as the flash bangs, or distraction devices, are deployed. They are used to disorient protesters as police move in.
Finally, the last barricade clatters to the ground and the officers gain entry. They encounter sign-wielding protesters in head scarves. There's some shoving, but more whistle-blowing, as officers order the protesters to "stay down." A line of protesters are seen cross-legged against the wall, hands either over their heads or linked to the person next to them.
PHOTOS: Columbia University student protesters take over Hamilton Hall
The NYPD did not release body camera video of the operation that sent officers up a ladder truck and through a second-floor window, which is how they initially gained access to the building. Video shot by news cameras, though, shows the massive truck roll up to the window with dozens of officers in a single file line. They go in, one by one.
Authorities have said three minor injuries were reported amid the fray. It wasn't clear to whom those injuries happened, nor how they happened -- whether in a stampede or confrontation with police or by some other means. A total of 109 people were arrested, including 40 to 50 people who had been in the hall. Those in the hall are charged with burglary, trespassing and criminal mischief. The Manhattan district attorney's office says it is reviewing the charges.
The NYPD has said Hamilton Hall is now a crime scene.
A day ago, a crowd gathered in Chinatown near the intersection of Mott Street and Worth Street to greet the protesters who had been processed and released from the nearby courthouse and NYPD headquarters. Some of those charged spoke to the media after their release.
"I was playing the drum on the sidewalk and police started fast approaching," said Fernando Bobis, an arrested protester. "I was jumped on by two officers. My hands were forced behind me and zip-tied viciously tight."
Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban say police demonstrated remarkable restraint, and commended them for their efforts. University President Minouche Shafik has said she was left with no choice but to call in the NYPD again, following what bodycam video shows was a destructive overtaking of Hamilton Hall.
Shafik has faced mounting calls to resign over her handling of the protests. The Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors called for a vote of no confidence in the administration Thursday.
Anti-war protests escalate in NYC, elsewhere
At the same time they breached Hamilton Hall, officers were involved with the dismantling of a protest at City College in Manhattan. Nearly 200 people were arrested there. Another dozen-plus were taken into custody during a protest at the Fordham-Lincoln Center campus Wednesday night -- and nearly 30 were cuffed overnight at Stony Brook University.
Police have swept through campuses across the U.S. over the last two weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza. There have been confrontations and more than 1,000 arrests. In rarer instances, university officials and protest leaders struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies.
Even as protests in New York City de-escalate, demonstrations at campuses in other states are ramping up in intensity.
Hundreds were arrested at UCLA overnight during a violent protest takedown there early Thursday.
President Joe Biden addressed the national protests Thursday, affirming the right to free speech with a caveat: "but it doesn't mean everything goes." He condemned the ones that have turned violent and said the demonstrations have not made him consider a change to his administration's Mideast policies.
The campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry there.
As cease-fire negotiations appeared to gain steam, it wasn’t clear whether those talks would lead to an easing of protests.
Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests as antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.
