PALESTINE PROTESTS
Video shows NYPD entering Hamilton Hall through second-floor window
Dramatic scenes emerged at Columbia University as the NYPD used a ramp to enter through the second-floor window of Hamilton Hall, occupied by protesters.
The New York City Police Department intervened in the Columbia University protests at the request of the school. After several pro-Palestine protesters set up encampments for weeks and refused to leave, they later occupied Hamilton Hall, barricading the doors with furniture and soda machines and refusing to leave.
When the police arrived on campus, some entered through a second-floor window, using a large ramp and others entered through the main gate. Flash bangs were used to confuse the protesters as the police made their way inside. Police say no tear gas was used.
Columbia University requested the assistance of the police after negotiations failed to work. (Read their full statement here.) The school sent out a shelter-in-place alert on Tuesday night due to “heightened activity”. The NYPD shut down three encampments and at least 48 people were taken into custody, leaving on New York City Department of Correction buses.