New York college suspends officer after perceived threats to campus protesters

A New York City university suspended a security guard on Friday after a video was released showing the guard yelling expletives and using threatening language at pro-Palestinian protesters during a graduation ceremony.

College of Staten Island President Timothy Lynch responded to the incident. In a statementcondemning the “offensive” language.

“Yesterday, the College of Staten Island held a ceremony to celebrate over 2,000 graduates,” Lynch wrote. “Unfortunately, a tragic incident occurred during the graduation ceremony involving CUNY Public Safety officers.”

“We want to be clear that the offensive language used by this officer does not reflect the views or values ​​of the College of Staten Island. [City University of New York] “We deeply regret that this incident occurred on such an important day for our graduates and their families.”

Recently on Instagram post“During the CSI graduation walkout to accuse CUNY of complicity in the genocide of Palestinians, CUNY police officer Sergeant Donald Girard 281 declared that he supports the genocide and ‘supports the killing of all of you,'” CSI Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) said in a statement.

post, According to the Associated Pressposted a video of what appeared to be police officers threatening pro-Palestinian protesters, but officers and officials contacted did not respond to requests for comment.

CSI, One of several schools The university, known locally as CUNY, part of the city’s university system, held its on-campus graduation ceremony Thursday morning, according to its website. Several graduation ceremonies this spring have been canceled as protests over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis have spread to universities across the country.

The news also came after the United Nations Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Israel must halt its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 900,000 people fled early in the war and where aid agencies say there is nowhere else they can safely go.