Lawrence Police Actions Against Student Protesters Raise Deep Concern (Column) – The Lawrence Times

Presented by members of the Sanctuary Alliance – Lawrence, Kansas to Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart and Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens.

Chief Lockhart and City Manager Owens:

We write today as community organizers as part of the Sanctuary Alliance to express our deep concerns about the Lawrence Police Department’s actions against KU student protesters and the student organization KU Students for Justice in Palestine.

First of all, we would like to mention that we fully support and stand in solidarity with the student protesters and reiterate their actions and calls for the University to respond to their legitimate demands regarding the University’s involvement and complacency in the genocide of the Palestinian people. As a community organization committed to ensuring that the City of Lawrence welcomes all, regardless of background, we firmly reject all forms of genocidal violence, ethnic cleansing and xenophobia and stand with the Palestinian people. We applaud the students and their efforts to hold the KU Chancellor and administration accountable for their direct or indirect involvement in Israel, and hope that the KU administration quickly moves to a discussion with the students and a withdrawal from any involvement in it Israel passes over.

This past week, students peacefully exercised their right to protest on campus and were met with unnecessary and excessive force by the KU Police and with the support of your department.

On the evenings of Tuesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 9, your officers responded and coordinated a mutual aid request from KU Police to disperse the student protests without regard to their constitutional rights. On both evenings, over 44 officers from every department in the county responded to a peaceful protest with aggression and disrespect.

Without any warning, on the evening of May 9, KU police, again with the support of your department, arrested demonstrators for trespassing on their campus and three were arrested. Throughout the aggression by police, including your officers, students remained respectful and upheld their constitutional right to assemble and peacefully protest. Despite the vague, unsigned letter from KU administration, unnecessary actions were taken against these students, including tracking students through a library after they were dismantled.

The actions of the KU Police Department and your department were despicable, unnecessary and costly to the Lawrence community. While it may be protocol to respond to a request for mutual aid, your lack of foresight to question the actions of the KU Police Department has resulted in potential danger to students and a waste of public tax dollars on the excessive use of your officers guided.

As members of the Sanctuary Alliance, we worked with your department, the City Manager’s Office and the City Commission to pass an ordinance and proclamation declaring our city safe and welcoming for everyone, including KU students. Your actions were in complete contradiction to your duty to maintain the status of hospitality and are a disgrace to the work of community safety.

As community members, organizers and taxpayers, we ask that you formally explain your actions and reasons for both events and refuse to respond to any future calls for help from KU Police regarding peaceful protests on the KU campus. Your lack of transparency and excessive presence in support of aggression against students does not reflect the will of the community.

Peaceful protest is the right of all community members. We will continue to hold you accountable for your actions and demand that you refrain from harming students in our community.

In solidarity with KUSJP and student protesters,

– Sanctuary Alliance – Lawrence, KS

Sanctuary Alliance – Lawrence, KS is a collective of community organizers working to create a sanctuary for Lawrence by developing policies that hold city employees accountable for their interactions with federal law enforcement and providing financial support to the immigrant community.

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