'Brutally Arrested': Videos Show NYPD Violence At Columbia, CUNY

Updated 4:03 p.m.

NEW YORK CITY — Viral videos from NYPD raids on pro-Palestinian protests undercut police officials' assertion that the arrests of nearly 300 people at Columbia University and City College largely unfolded peacefully.

Cops appear to shove students down stairs, push them to the ground and rush into crowds in videos posted from the raids late Tuesday.

The arrests largely unfolded as the NYPD blocked most reporters' access to the raids — a move many saw as a deliberate attempt by police brass to sanitize a violent crackdown.

"Students were brutally arrested," tweeted Samaa Khullar, a student journalist at Columbia, who contended she and other press were hit, shoved and forcibly shunted away from the raids.

"Any news outlet that is reporting these were 'peaceful arrests' is blatantly lying."

The scenes in videos and recounted by protesters contradict the accounts by Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD brass during a news conference Wednesday.

The majority of arrests unfolded without incident, said Tarik Sheppard, the NYPD's top spokesperson, who showed police department videos that appeared to show a relatively calm night for the NYPD.

"We made it look like it wasn't problematic," he said.

Instead of protest coverage from the city’s many news outlets, most New Yorkers awoke to see a staged flag-raising of the American flag at City College, where protesters had hoisted a Palestinian one.

Reporters who tried to cover the protests from Columbia and City College argued the NYPD deliberately tried to suppress any viewpoint other than their own.

“One of the most frustrating nights for press access i’ve experienced as a reporter,” tweeted Associated Press reporter Jake Offenhartz.

One of the most frustrating nights for press access i’ve experienced as a reporter. At Columbia & CCNY, police barricaded public streets for blocks, obstructing journalists from seeing what was happening even from a distance. A policy of exclusion cheered on by Eric Adams’ staff https://t.co/sC6vifcify
— Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) May 1, 2024

After the raids, several claims by Adams and NYPD officials about the protesters and the presence of "outside agitators" came under fire.

NYPD officials as of publication had yet to release a breakdown of how many students and outsiders were among the 119 people arrested in the Columbia raids.

Perhaps most notably, officials contended that bike locks and chains used by protesters to barricade the doors at Hamilton Hall were evidence that some sort of professional agitators had instigated the building's takeover.

"This is not what students bring to school," Sheppard said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," holding up a heavy-duty chain and lock.

"This is what professionals bring to campuses and universities."

But many students and reporters quickly pointed out that those chains and locks were, in fact, sold to Columbia students by the university. (The lock program's site can be found here.)

In one video viewed more than 500,000 times, THECITY reporter Katie Honan even confronted Sheppard with the site showing the bike locks were sold by Columbia, only to have him seemingly dodge the question.

Likewise, the American flag stunt came under scrutiny, in part because Adams cast himself as angry that students would fly another nation's flag.

"It's despicable that schools would allow another country flag to fly in our country," he said. "So blame me for being proud to be an American."

"We are not surrendering our way of life to anyone."

Adams, as mayor, has presided over dozens of flag-raising ceremonies for other nation's flags, most recently on April 26 for South Africa. (Video of that ceremony can be seen here.)

His flag fandom has even inspired a story in the New York Times headlined "For Mayor Adams, Any Day Has the Makings of Flag Day.

Updated 9:41 a.m.

NEW YORK CITY — Roughly 300 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in NYPD raids at Columbia University and City College, Mayor Eric Adams said.

Adams, during a Wednesday morning news conference, contended unspecified "professionals" and "external actors" had co-opted otherwise peaceful protests against the war in Gaza.

"There is a movement to radicalize young people and I’m not going to wait until it's done and all of the sudden acknowledge the existence of it," he said.

The mayor said police arrested 300 protesters late Tuesday between the two raids. Officers are still trying to figure out how many are students, but seemed to acknowledge the "outside agitators" would be a fraction of those cuffed, he said.

"You don't have to be the majority to influence and co-opt an operation," he said.

NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said 119 people were arrested at Columbia, and 173 at City College.

Updated 9:29 a.m. Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD officials are holding a news conference on the raids.

Watch as Police Commissioner Caban & NYPD executives join Mayor Adams for an update on last night's police activity. https://t.co/SN1X9zJR25
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 1, 2024

NEW YORK CITY — Pro-Palestinian protests on Columbia University's campus ended in a dramatic NYPD raid that ended with dozens of arrests, officials said.

The late Tuesday raid came at the behest of university President Minouche Shafik, who expressed "utmost regret" in a letter that not only requested the NYPD clear an occupation at Hamilton Hall and an antiwar encampment, but also stay on campus until at least May 17.

The school's commencement events end May 17.

"The events on campus last night have left us no choice," Shafik wrote, referring to the Hamilton Hall occupation.

Roughly 40 to 50 people were arrested at Hamilton Hall during the raid, said Tarik Sheppard, the NYPD's deputy commissioner for public information, during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

An NYPD spokesperson didn't have specific information on the number of arrests.

Mayor Eric Adams, who also appeared on the MSNBC program, repeated his contention that "outside agitators" who weren't Columbia students had spearheaded the Hamilton Hall takeover. He didn't provide specific evidence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.