As protestors banged on drums in the early morning on Tulane’s campus, 250 members of law enforcement made their way to the campus to disband what Tulane President Mike Fitts called an “unlawful protest.”
“We wanted to give them an opportunity to peacefully remove themselves and not violate the rights of others as well,” said New Orleans Police Department Chief Anne Kirkpatrick.
However, protesters say their removal was everything but peaceful.
“More cops showed up, and that’s when people realized they weren’t telling the truth. They’re going to come for us,” said protester Sam Murphy.
“Several of us were pushed down violently. I was injured, shot by what seemed to be smoke bombs. I was hit in my leg,” said protester Kristin Hamilton.
“Protesting is not a crime. Protesting is not a crime,” said protesters.
After being released, students like Blue Demarco said the goal of the police was to traumatize the protestors.
“Everybody here saw the videos. You can see who was peaceful and who was not, and the body cam footage will show you explicitly from their point of view exactly how they brutalized last night,” said protester Juleea Berthalot.
“All of the cops informed us they turned off their body cams. They said so with glee and laughter. It was not something that wasn’t important to them, it didn’t matter to them, but it mattered to us,” said Demarco.
“We will look at every single bit of our video footage. We will take all complaints associated with injury,” said Kirkpatrick.
Students say the end of the protest does not mean their fight is over.
“We have learned the skills that we need to protect each other. We have learned skills that we can take to the streets to demand our city to divest because New Orleans is deeply complicit in this as well. This fight does not just stay on Tulane and Loyola’s campus,” said protester Camila Sobral.
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