NYPD Chief of Department Jeffery Maddrey said Tuesday that the department is at the ready to respond to the ongoing chaos at Columbia University since the early morning siege began at Hamilton Hall — but they cannot set foot on the grounds unless the administration calls upon them to do so.
During an unrelated press briefing, Chief Maddrey alluded that the NYPD’s hands are essentially cuffed until university administrators specifically requests them to move in.
“It’s something that the NYPD is going to have to stand on the sidelines and be prepared to deal with,” Chief Maddrey said. “The NYPD is always ready, but we will not be going to Columbia property without a specific request for them or if there is imminent danger.”
The NYPD made dozens of arrests at Columbia University back on April 18, when the campus asked them to clear demonstrators off the South Lawn. They have not been asked to return since.
This comes after the ongoing encampment stormed Hamilton Hall near the corner of 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue overnight. Between 60 to 100 protesters apparently barged into the building just after midnight Tuesday — taking hammers to windows, smashing glass, ripping down barricades near the doors, and blocking the entrances.
The campus has been completely locked down to the media and even staff who the institute does not see as essential.
Maddrey noted that the escalation comes at a “difficult” time, just as many students begin preparation for graduation. However, because Columbia’s campus is considered private property, police officials say they cannot breach the grounds unless the administration asks them to — or if they get a direct call from someone in immediate distress.
“Someone screaming for help, someone needing assistance, being hurt, we will go on the property to address that situation,” the chief noted. “But as far as the protests, the people elevating their voices, we will not go into that property until we get a specific request from Columbia University.”
During the ensuing chaos in the early hours, a member of the staff was reportedly injured in the siege, with them being stuck inside before eventually find their way out. Even this, police say, they are unable to act upon unless a person comes forward to make a complaint.
“If that person who had the had some kind of a scuffle or skirmish, if he calls us and says I was attacked or wants to make a police report, we’ll investigate that, and then we’ll address that,” Maddrey said. “We need a complainant to do that investigation and to make that arrest. And as of right now we don’t have that.”
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