police
police portland State University, officials have asked the city’s police to help remove dozens of protesters who have broken into and occupied a university library on Monday evening.
At present, between 50 and 75 protesters broke into the library building, and according to the police chief, Bob Day did not indicate when officials would enter the library to remove the protesters.
At a press conference on Monday evening, Day said that the demonstration had turned into a criminal event.
(The protest) is no longer considered to be a public order or free speech event, and requires a different type of response,” he said.
Speaking at the same press event, PSU president Ann Cudd said pro-Palestinian protesters had started setting up camp at the campus last week and by Monday morning, the encampment had grown. There was a risk to safety as well as damage to university property, she added.
After a peaceful protest in the afternoon, “the tone of the protest changed. Some members of the larger group broke into Millar library, the main PSU library, and entered the building. Other protesters remained outside the building, blocking access,” she said.
The university had called in Portland Police Bureau after campus police was unable to enter the library, she said.
“Given the growing health and safety risk to our campus community, and interference with our university operations, this afternoon we, the PSU leaders, asked the protesters to vacate the library portico,” Cudd said . The university sent out a campus-wide alert around 7:30 p.m. about activity at Millar Library, telling people to avoid the area.