On May 9, 2024, the University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD), together with the Tucson Police Department and a local SWAT team, used chemical irritants, pepper balls, and rubber bullets to disperse pro-Palestine protesters who had established encampment at the University of Arizona (UA). Two faculty members were arrested.

This was the second time in approximately two weeks that Arizona police used pepper balls and rubber bullets to disperse a pro-Palestine encampment at UA, having done so previously on May 1 (see report).

On the evening of May 9, the UA Students Against Apartheid re-established an encampment on the UA Mall to demand the university release a public statement calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and divest from corporations associated with Israeli military actions. Protesters put up a wall of wooden pallet boards, held together with nails and zip ties, that encircle the encampment. The encampment and structure violated a new policy, requiring prior approval and permits for large protests, announced by UA President Robert C. Robbins after the May 1st arrests.

Shortly after the encampment was established, the university notified the students that law enforcement, which was already present at the protest, would intervene citing safety concerns.

UAPD announced that the protesters were trespassing, that the encampment was an “unlawful assembly,” and warned that police would deploy chemical irritants to disperse those who remained. The protesters began throwing items, including rocks, water bottles, barricades, and cones, in front of SWAT police trucks. Shortly thereafter, police used pepper balls and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Two faculty members that were holding signs saying, “Keeping students safe” were arrested.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the disproportionate use of force to disperse students and the arrest of a faculty member exercising their rights to freedom of expression—conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments and the constitution of the United States. While state authorities have the responsibility to maintain order and prevent disruption, they must refrain from the disproportionate use of force and endangerment of civilians. Such actions, beyond harming the immediate victim, have a chilling effect on academic freedom and undermine democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2024/05/09/protesters-supporting-gaza-march-to-university-of-arizona-build-encampment/73636913007/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-use-tear-gas-to-disperse-protesters-at-university-of-arizona-tucson-campus/
https://tucson.com/news/local/education/college/university-of-arizona-pro-palestinian-protest-camp-police-enforcement/article_547f308a-0e63-11ef-8fb0-6f5ca52f4e86.html
https://tucson.com/news/local/education/college/protesters-university-arizona-pro-palestinian-anti-israel-war-encampment-rules-defied-police-force/article_93c114d0-0e71-11ef-b130-53b2bfbe4c3a.html