As universities and colleges in the US seek police assistance to address protests related to Israel's actions in Gaza, law enforcement responses are facing increased scrutiny following the arrest of thousands since mid-April. Videos capturing the interactions between police and protesters depict a variety of tactics employed to disperse demonstrators from campus buildings and dismantle on-campus encampments.
Experts in law enforcement note the diverse range of tactics used by police across different campuses, highlighting discrepancies in training and understanding of best practices for managing protests and crowd control. Despite these variations, experts acknowledge that police have generally shown restraint in their use of force, attributing this approach to lessons learned during the extensive protests that followed the killing of George Floyd nearly four years ago.
