Black college student hounded by public safety officers for not showing his ID

Video of a Columbia University student‘s altercation with safety officers at Barnard College went viral over the weekend, leading to student protests the following day.

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Alexander McNab went to the Barnard College library, which is also open to Columbia students, Thursday night because he saw that there was free food. But before he could get a bite to eat, he was surrounded by Barnard public safety officers demanding to see his student ID.

Barnard student Caroline Cutlip started filming on her phone when the officers pushed McNab against the counter of the library coffee shop and forced him onto his back, as the Washington Post reports. Cutlip told the Post that the officers’ actions reminded her of “police brutality things” she’d seen online in the past, so she wanted to record what was happening.

In the videos, McNab can be heard saying, “Take your hands off me!” When he pulls out his ID, he tells the officers this isn’t the first time he’s been stopped on campus.

“You want to see my ID? I am a Columbia University student. That’s me. This is the third time Barnard Public Safety has chased me down.”

After one officer takes McNab’s ID, he tells McNab to follow him outside. McNab doesn’t follow, instead waiting near the Barnard students. He told the Post that he didn’t want to go outside, away from witnesses.

In a second video Cutlip took, the officers argue with McNab and other students present about whether or not McNab ran into the building without showing ID. McNab says he didn’t know he needed to show ID but maintains that he walked into the building, which is backed up by other students. An officer specifically tells another black student that she needs to “relax.”

Barnard College said in a statement provided to Yahoo Lifestyle that the school’s policy states that “anyone entering our gates after 11 p.m. is required to show student identification,” but added that “going forward, we will work on ensuring that our policy is enforced consistently and communicated effectively in keeping with our values.”

Some Columbia students claimed on Twitter that the ID policy is “loosely enforced,” arguing that McNab was correct in thinking he was being racially profiled.

One of the students who witnessed the incident filed a complaint with Barnard’s Title IX officer, according to the Post.

“The confrontation puts into stark relief what some members of the Barnard College community, particularly people of color, have been saying about their relationship with the Office of Public Safety and the lack of trust they have in it to keep them safe,” Barnard College president Sian Leah Beilock said in a Sunday letter to the Barnard community. “We must ensure that public safety officers act equitably toward all and that the community trusts this will occur. That work is now underway, effective immediately.”

A listening session was held on Friday for public safety officials and the Barnard administration to hear from those on campus. Beilock’s letter added that all of the public safety officers involved were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation that will be carried out by an independent firm. The school also plans to review the training program for all public safety officers and supervisors.

Columbia’s independent news blog reported that students protested in the rain Friday night, chanting, “No justice, no peace, f*** these racist police!”

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