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New York Police Department leaders attempted to shut down concerns Wednesday that the “liberated zones” on college campuses like Columbia and New York University could metastasize into the anarchical “autonomous zones” seen during the 2020 George Floyd riots.
On “The Story,” anchor Trace Gallagher was speaking with NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell and NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry when he reported on concerns the already raucous protests could devolve further.
Daughtry said when he worked alongside officers at NYU recently, he witnessed professors joining the student protests and ridiculing New York’s Finest for their attempts to keep the demonstrations under control.
As arrests of protesters who refused to vacate the area were being made, Daughtry heard epithets toward him and others that he said would have never been tolerated if the roles were reversed.
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Video“Let’s just say, if my officers spoke how the professors and the faculty spoke to the officers — if my officers spoke like that, they would get a substantiated CCRB,” he said, referring to the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, through which transgressions by officers can result in loss of vacation, suspension or termination.
Gallagher noted some of the protests have evolved into being simultaneously anti-police, and that the NYPD was audibly compared to the Ku Klux Klan in some cases.
“You can see where a lot of people say they could see these areas becoming like the Seattle autonomous zone back in the George Floyd riots, where they linger and last all summer long and get bigger and more dangerous,” he said.
However, Chell appeared to immediately shut down the possibility, drawing a line between resistance and refusal to vacate.
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Video“We will not have any Seattle-type encampments on the streets of New York City. I can guarantee you that — that would end rather quickly,” he said.
In Seattle, protesters took over a portion of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which led to clashes between then-President Trump and Democratic then-Mayor Jenny Durkan over the handling of the zone.
Chell said there is a difference between the right to create encampments on campus quads and the right to do it in public. While the Columbia campus is zoned private, NYU-based protests have been held in places like Washington Square Park, which is public but considered part of the greater campus neighborhood.
“The fine line here is the street, the public property, which we’ll deal with, and the college is the private property,” Chell said.
“That’s why we got to strike this balance. Let me repeat, there will never be encampments on the streets of New York City while we’re in power — never going to happen.”
In Columbia’s case, the NYPD remained outside the Morningside Heights campus until President Nemat Minouche Shafik gave her blessing to have the cops raid her school’s encampment.
More than 100 people were detained and/or arrested during the April 18 operation, according to the New York Post.
Chell later said his officers made more than 200 arrests during a Tuesday night protest at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, not far from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s home, which was similarly besieged by anti-Israel demonstrators.
VideoNear Schumer’s home, protesters held an “emergency Seder” — using a Hebrew term that at this time of year signifies the feast at the beginning of Passover — and demanded the Senate majority leader oppose U.S. “arming” of Israel, according to a statement from organizers reported by the Times of Israel.
Still, the NYPD prevented the protests from descending into chaos.
“We have done it flawlessly and we’re neutral and we know how to conduct ourselves,” Chell said. “And I think that the country’s watching on. I think our young men and women from this department and our bosses are doing a fantastic job in a very precarious situation.”
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
