Emails: NU considers external police assistance for student camp

Northwestern University was considering “additional law enforcement resources” from departments outside Evanston to help its campus police deal with the pro-Palestinian encampment at Deering Meadow, according to records obtained by the RoundTable.

The emails, which were released via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, show that the NUPD leadership was concerned about the Illinois Police Alarm System (ILEAS) during the five-day period in which the students set up camp at Deering Meadow, and at least intended to contact the Illinois State Police as well. These records also provide insight into the university’s communication and coordination with the Evanston Police Department, which took a laissez-faire approach that Mayor Daniel Biss later said is “completely in line” with the views of other city leaders.

Students from the Northwest the camp opens on the morning of April 25 to demand that the university withdraw from Israel and end its partnerships with Israel. It was the first campus occupation of its kind in the Chicago area. similar protests increased on college campuses across the country. Just over 100 hours later, on April 29, announced a negotiated agreement with student organizers to effectively end the nightly occupation without direct police violence.

This agreement allowed the NUPD officers short and unsuccessful attempt the clearing of the camp on the morning of April 25 was the only direct police action against the protests – however, emails show that the NUPD was consulted with other police agencies up until the day the agreement was announced.

Coordination between city and Talar

Email records provided to the city through a FOIA request show that city and university leadership were in contact throughout the day on Friday, April 26, including in several emails and a joint Zoom meeting.

The day began with Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart issuing a clear policy statement to city and university officials: Because there is no “imminent threat to public safety,” Evanston police will “not assist in clearing the encampment” unless such a threat develops. But she acknowledged that it would be “prudent to carefully and diligently prepare for that possibility” and proposed a city-university meeting to prepare “both agencies” for the possibility of an eviction and arrests.

Northwestern Police Chief Bruce Lewis agreed that a meeting would be helpful, and after some coordination, an invitation to a one-hour Zoom meeting in the afternoon was sent out to everyone on the email chain — 15 different NU and city officials in total. The RoundTable does not have a recording or notes of the meeting itself, but two follow-up emails provide insight into the topics discussed.

In the first, Stewart said EPD would “continue to evaluate our staffing needs” over the weekend and suggested holding another meeting soon to “find out what NU has learned from Student Affairs, the Illinois State Police and ILEAS.”