The New York Police Department has released a narrative of today’s events at the New School. That narrative, which appeared alongside the YouTube clip it posted this evening, is posted without comment below.

The attached video shows the NYPDs entrance into the New School and arrests being affected. No force of any kind was used in affecting the arrests of nineteen individuals who were charged with burglary, riot, and criminal mischief. In addition, three of the nineteen were charged with assault, for injuring a guard/custodian after they slammed a door on his leg. One of those three was charged with assault and grand larceny, after he stole a radio (walkie-talkie) from the guard/custodian. The incident began today at approximately 5:30 am when a group entered the building, and ejected the guard/custodian. New School officials contacted the police and asked that the intruders be arrested for forcing their way into the building. Police responded and began negotiations with the occupants in order to enter the building peaceably. Emergency Service officers had to first use bolt cutters to cut through chains that were used to lock the front doors. Police negotiators convinced the individuals inside to voluntarily unchain a second set of doors leading into the room where the occupants were seated on the floor. Once inside, members of the NYPD Manhattan South Task Force placed the nineteen under arrest without incident. At some point as police were entering the building on Fifth Avenue, a group of thirty to forty individuals advanced on a side entrance of the same building on E. 14th Street. While an individual or individuals pushed against the side door from inside, others from the advancing group began to throw metal barriers at the officers. Additional officers were summoned. They pursued fleeing members of the group, and affected three arrests for charges that included: assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration. A video on the New York Times website showed portions of these arrests, but did not show those elements captured on video elsewhere, including Youtube, which captured images of individuals from the group throwing the metal barriers. The same video showed an individual, later arrested, as he tried to wrest a prisoner away from an officer who either fell, or was knocked to the ground while attempting to make an arrest.