New York City police officials on Monday told reporters that Columbia University “does not want NYPD present on campus,” despite an anti-Israel encampment featuring antisemitic and pro-terror chants, sparking serious security concerns for Jewish students at the start of Passover.
At a press conference, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michale Gerber emphasized that Columbia University is private property, so police can enter only in the scenario of a crime in progress or someone in danger.
“If someone is, for example, who is being attacked, we’re going to go in to Columbia University, as we would to a private home to help protect that person,” Gerber said. “But absent exigency, absent some ongoing crime, we cannot just go on the Columbia campus as we see fit. It is up to the university to decide whether or not they want us on campus. As a general matter, Columbia University and this goes back many years, does not want NYPD present on campus. That is their decision.”
On Thursday, the day after Columbia President Dr. Nemat “Minouche” Shafik was held to account before the House Education on the Workforce Committee regarding soaring antisemitism at the Ivy League school in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel, the university informed NYPD that they had students who were trespassing.
So, Gerber explained, Columbia leadership asked police to come onto campus and take action. More than 100 people were arrested and later released.
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“But that was an exceptional case in the normal course. They’ve made clear that we’re not to be there,” Gerber said. “And so we’re not there now around the university, in the streets, around the university, that’s public property there. We have a very large police presence. And our officers obviously are going to take action to prevent crime and to make arrests if there is a crime.”
He added that any kind of violence, property damage or criminality “is not going to be tolerated,” including “harassment or threats or menacing or stalking” not protected by the First Amendment.
Despite New York City Eric Adams even calling out chants from Columbia anti-Israel agitators “supporting a terrorist organization that aims to kill Jews,” decrying such speech as “sickening and despicable,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard confirmed at the press conference, “There’s been no credible threats to any particular group or individual coming from this protest or any other.”
Shafik, breaking her silence over the weekend in issuing an overnight statement, canceled in-person classes on Monday, calling for a “reset” as “tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas.”
Instead of bringing in police to disperse the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that has persisted for days on the South Lawn, Shafik promised a “working group of Deans, university administrators and faculty members will try to bring this crisis to a resolution” in the coming days, including through “continuing discussions with the student protestors and identifying actions we can take as a community to enable us to peacefully complete the term and return to respectful engagement with each other.”
“I know that there is much debate about whether or not we should use the police on campus, and I am happy to engage in those discussions,” Shafik said. “But I do know that better adherence to our rules and effective enforcement mechanisms would obviate the need for relying on anyone else to keep our community safe. We should be able to do this ourselves.”
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