On May 8, 2025, police violently dispersed students as they left a Palestinian solidarity protest at Brooklyn College; multiple students were arrested and one student was tased and arrested.

Students had gathered during the late afternoon on the campus of Brooklyn College to protest Israeli state military action in Gaza. After several hours, college administrators and security officers requested that police come to campus to disperse the students. Initially, the group dispersed peacefully and without incident. However, as the protesters reassembled outside of the campus, police started making arrests and tensions escalated. Videos from the scene show police officers pushing, punching, or kicking students, and slamming them into the ground. In one case, an officer tased a student that he and several other officers were arresting.

Scholars at Risk is concerned by the use of force by police to disperse students peacefully exercising freedom of expression and freedom of assembly—conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. State authorities have a responsibility to refrain from restricting the nonviolent exercise of such rights. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, the improper use of force to restrict or deter nonviolent student expression undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/05/08/brookyn-college-demonstration-palestine-israel-taser-arrests/
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/nyregion/protest-brooklyn-college-arrests.html
https://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000010158924/protest-brooklyn-college-arrests.html