Activists dispute review of ‘Silent Sam’ protest arrests

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A group of students and faculty at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill have protested a review of campus police that says officers mostly acted appropriately when arresting students and other anti-racist activists.

The News & Observer reports the review released Tuesday was conducted by former FBI executive Chris Swecker, who investigated four incidents related to protests over the Confederate “Silent Sam” monument on campus. Members of the group that protested Wednesday afternoon say the review disparages students and unjustly defends campus police.

The review says a campus police officer gave false testimony against a graduate student arrested last year. It also says officers were wrong for not arresting an openly armed demonstrator. The review also found that officers didn’t show “favouritism towards the white supremacist cause” when arresting student activists.

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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com