Photo/Courtesy
David Angel, retiring president of Clark University
June 3, 2020
Clark will stop hiring off-duty Worcester police, cites officer behavior at protest
Photo | Grant Welker
Clark University
Clark University in Worcester will stop using off-duty Worcester Police officers as security and will no longer require a police officer to be present at large student events, college President David Angel and President-elect David Fithian announced in a joint statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon.
The school cited the department’s response to a Monday night protest against police brutality, held in reaction to the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. After a peaceful protest on the Worcester Common, another group of protestors reportedly gathered in the City’s Main South neighborhood around 9:45 p.m., Fithian and Angel said. As events escalated, police used pepper spray and other measures to quell the crowd, they said.
“We do not at this time know the full circumstances or details of these events,” Angel and Fithian said. “What we do know is that the police actions we have witnessed are unacceptable and a source of dismay to all within our community. We share the anger and concern over these actions.”
In a statement released Tuesday, the Worcester Police Department acknowledged using smoke grenades and pepperballs on the protesters, which it said include the same active ingredient as pepper spray. The department alleged protestors attacked some members of the police department with, among other things, rocks, fireworks and roman candles, and area residents requested the department quell the crowd.
“Our officers showed great restraint and professionalism as they restored order to the neighborhood while being assaulted,” Chief Steven Sargent said in the statement. “Violence is never the answer.”
Photo | Courtesy of Clark University
David Fithian, president of Clark University
A total of 19 people were arrested at the protest, police said. Clark University administration said in a statement the figure included four Clark students.
Aside from divesting from the WPD, Angel and Fithian said the university would continue to support its students, including those who were arrested. The school will conduct an independent investigation into the altercation with police officers, and initiate an evaluation of anti-bias and de-escalation training of the school's police officers and other staff.
The university declined to say what kind of financial burden it might incur from breaking off its relationship with off-duty Worcester police officers, but said in its statement it does not have a contract with the department. The school declined to say what that internal evaluation might look like, or whether the officers hired by the school are former police officers, as they often are at other colleges and universities.
“We are determined to create a space for meaningful, lasting positive change that addresses systemic racism and violence against people of color and does everything Clark can to lead us toward becoming a stronger, more inclusive, and equitable society,” Angel and Fithian said.
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