As universities and colleges turn to police to clear their campuses of protests over Israel’s assault on Gaza that continue to ripple, the response by law enforcement is under heightened scrutiny after thousands were arrested since mid-April.
Footage from the physical - and in some cases violent - confrontations between police and protesters shows a gamut of tactics used to disperse demonstrators from occupied school buildings and campus encampments.
Civil rights groups have criticized what they call an excessive police response to the protests as officers, clad in riot gear, swarm campuses and in some cases deployed rubber bullets, chemical irritants and pepper balls. Law enforcement agencies say they were challenged with ensuring the First Amendment rights of protesters while enforcing the law and the rules of the universities and keeping everyone safe, CNN reports.
The wide range of police tactics seen on campuses show the disparities between police agencies in their training and understanding of the generally accepted best practices in dealing with protests and crowd control issues.
Experts said police were largely measured in their approach and showed restraint in using force – a result of lessons learned during the widespread protests after the police killing of George Floyd nearly four years ago.
“In the rearview mirror of every police executive is the summer of 2020, which was a real defining moment for police in terms of handling demonstrations, violent demonstrations,” said Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum. “Police were not prepared for the level of violence they encountered.”
Officers have arrested more than 2,000 people on campuses since mid-April amid polarized debates over the right to protest, the limits of free speech and accusations of antisemitism. The majority of demonstrations have called for colleges to divest from companies that support Israel and the assault on Gaza.
The crackdowns on protesters have led to clashes and standoffs with police, and some counter-protesters, unfolding on campuses that have in some instances prompted canceled or modified graduation ceremonies and increased security protocols.
President Biden delivered his most extensive remarks on the protests on Thursday, drawing a line between what he called peaceful and violent protests, repeating his support for Israel, and dismissing calls for the National Guard to intervene at universities.
It’s rare for universities and colleges to call in local police onto their campuses, but the dynamic varies depending on whether they are private or public. The institutions that have their own police departments, most of them public, typically have a memorandum of understanding or mutual aid agreement that dictates when they request assistance from police agencies.
One outcome of the 2020 protests was a greater sensibility around the need for dialogue and engagement with protesters, said Frank Straub of Safe and Sound Schools, an adolescent-targeted violence prevention project, and founder of the Center for Targeted Violence Prevention.
PERF published a report in 2022 about lessons learned from 2020, highlighting the need to evolve police approaches to demonstrations.
Among its recommendations, PERF advised polices to avoid mass arrests, to warn crowds before deploying less-lethal force and to ensure an effective line of communication throughout the policing chain of command.