Students, faculty at UB file lawsuit against police officers after pro-Palestine protest
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Students and faculty at University at Buffalo, among others, are filing a lawsuit against over 40 police officers, the City of Buffalo, and the president of UB alleging a 'violent dispersal' of a pro-Palestine protest last May.
On May 1, 2024, more than 50 students gathered in front of Hochstetter Hall for a peaceful protest against the war in Gaza including prayer, speeches and chants, according to the plaintiffs. Police were called after five tents were set up on campus, which is against the university's policy.
UB said that 15 people, seven students and eight people unaffiliated with the school, were arrested. Charges against them included loitering, trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
The lawsuit alleges that despite the calm nature of the protest, police officers violently suppressed the protest in a 'militarized response.'
'At exactly 8:23 p.m., dozens of officers charged the protest site while the Muslim sunset prayers were ongoing,' the lawsuit reads. 'The officers violently tackled students and community members, punched and kneed individuals who has been restrained, dislodged religious garments, zip-tied wrists so tightly that fingers went numb, and taunted crying arrestees with profanity and threats.'
Plaintiffs say their rights were violated under the first, fourth and fourteenth amendments of the U.S. constitution. They are seeking damages for a loss of freedom, as well as trauma, both physical and mental, the lawsuit said.
Latest Local News
Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
At least 60 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health staff say
At least 60 people have been killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health staff have said. A dozen people were killed near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, along with eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. Six others were killed in southern Gaza when a strike hit their tent in Muwasi, according to the hospital. Follow latest: The strikes, which began late on Friday and continued into Saturday morning, came as US President Donald Trump said there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. "We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of," he told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. Ron Dermer, Israel's minister for strategic affairs, will arrive in Washington next week for talks on Gaza's ceasefire, Iran and other subjects, an official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The last ceasefire ended . The war in Gaza was sparked after Hamas launched its attack on Israel in October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than half of them still believed to be alive. More than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Read more from Sky News: The UN has also warned that , with Israel allowing a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May after blocking all food for more than two months. Palestinians have been shot at and killed while on their way to get food at aid sites, according to Gaza's health officials and witnesses. Israel's military said it was investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while approaching the sites.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Adams on Cuomo independent bid chatter: ‘I don't focus on what other candidates are doing'
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Friday brushed off talks of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo launching an independent bid, saying he's only focused on 'what I am doing.' 'I don't focus on what other candidates are doing. I focus on what I am doing,' Adams said during an appearance on CNN's 'The Lead' with Jake Tapper. 'I came from behind when I ran in 2021, I was head of 13-point deficit from the leading opponent in the race,' he told Tapper. 'And as you see, we were successful. I know I did campaign, I know how to speak to voters.' The mayor added, 'I'm a working class mayor. I'm a blue collar mayor, and I would resonate in the residents of this city. They see I'm one of them.' His comments come days after New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani seemed to edge out Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary — though results in the city's ranked-choice voting system are not final. Cuomo conceded to Mamdani, 33, after Tuesday's ballots were counted. Adams launched his own independent bid following the election. When asked if he's considered following in the mayor's footsteps, Cuomo told CBS News on Wednesday that he is 'assessing that landscape.' Mamdani also dismissed the chatter, saying he's 'not at all' concerned about that possibility. Asked about the self-proclaimed democratic socialist's perceived victory and what it means for the general election, Adams slammed the state lawmaker — who has lobbied for Palestine to become its own U.S.-recognized state — for being a 'pro-Hamas' candidate. 'I'm not competing against him only for what he's done and praising Hamas,' he told Tapper, a after highlighting the ways he believes Mamdani has backed the U.S.-designated terrorist organization amid its war with Israel. 'I'm competing against him because this is not a socialist city, and that much of what he's promising to people, which I think is really deplorable, people that are struggling like my family did of living without the means that we needed.' Adams earlier in the week also accused his opponent of being disingenuous. 'He's a snake oil salesman,' Adams told 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday. 'He would say and do anything to get elected.' Tapper questioned the incumbent mayor on reports that he made a deal with the Trump administration to ramp up immigration enforcement in the Big Apple, following the Justice Department's decision to drop federal corruption charges against him. 'I never met the president prior to him running for office, never met in my life. He talked about the unfairness of the charges while he was on the campaign trail. And the first time we met, he also articulated the unfairness and the Justice Department used the same system that determines if someone should be indicted,' Adams said. 'They use that system to determine that I should not have been indicted, and the charges were dropped with prejudice,' he added. The mayor has denied the allegations in the past, even after several DOJ officials resigned following the Trump administration's move to drop the corruption charges.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
NYC's free summer meal program offers halal food, without listing kosher options
The city Department of Education's summer meal program for NYC youths boasts a variety of halal options at more than 25 locations citywide, but kosher food 'must be specially ordered,' officials told The Post. Free breakfasts and lunches will be served at hundreds of locations – schools, pools, libraries and parks – for anyone up to 18 years old, including all students from both public and private schools. 'You don't need to sign up, show any papers, or have an ID to get these meals,' the DOE says. 'Just head to one of our spots and enjoy a delicious breakfast and lunch.' Halal food – permissible for Muslims to eat under Islamic law – is available for the taking by anyone who shows up at the listed locations. Kosher food, for observant Jewish kids, is not mentioned on the DOE website. 4 DOE food worker Maria Gonzalez said she gave out 100 meals from a food truck in Haffen Park in the Bronx on the first day of the free summer meal program Friday. J.C. Rice Only when asked by The Post, the DOE said kosher meals 'must be specially ordered, and they are only available upon request. However we do not currently have any applications for kosher meals.' The glaring omission angered some Jewish advocates. 'The DOE's clear promotion of halal options alongside silence on kosher meals highlights a gap that needs urgent attention,'' said Karen Feldman, a DOE teacher and co-founder of the NYCPS Alliance, which fights antisemitism in the city public schools. 'Jewish families who keep kosher deserve the same outreach to feel fully included in this important program.' 4 A DOE food truck gave out free summer breakfasts and lunches to youths in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. J.C. Rice A similar controversy erupted in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when the City Council's Jewish Caucus demanded that Mayor De Blasio's DOE include kosher meals along with vegetarian and halal food for Muslims in its free meal program. The DOE does not track students by religion, but an estimated 10 percent of NYC public-school students, roughly 100,000, are Muslim. The number of Jewish kids in NYC public schools is unclear, but 105,776 K-12 students enrolled in private Jewish schools in 2024-2025, said Gabriel Aaronson, director of policy and research for the non-profit advocacy group Teach Coalition. Poverty and hunger plague many NYC Jews, among other groups. The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, which serves more than 325,000 clients, says it provides emergency food that meets the cultural and religious dietary needs of both kosher and halal-observant households. 4 Karen Feldman, a DOE teacher and co-founder of a group fighting antisemitism in public schools, faulted the city's free summer meal program's failure to list kosher meals for Jewish kids. Gregory P. Mango The DOE's summer menus offer a variety of halal options it says meet Islamic guidelines. For instance, a breakfast of egg and cheese on a buttermilk biscuit, home fries, and fresh fruit; and a lunch of chicken tenders with dipping sauce, garlic knot and corn. Other halal breakfasts include waffles, zucchini and banana bread, whole-grain bagels and buttermilk pancakes. Lunches feature pizza, mozzarella sticks, beef patties, falafel, chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers and empanadas. Kosher foods meet Jewish dietary laws, including restrictions on certain animals like pork and shellfish, separation of meat and dairy, and specific slaughtering and preparation methods. If ordered, the DOE said, a kosher breakfast would include a muffin, granola or cereal, plus yogurt, an apple, and milk. A lunch would consist of hummus, tuna or egg salad, whole wheat bread, grape tomatoes, apple and milk. 4 The DOE posted July summer meals with multiple halal options, but none for kosher food, angering some Jewish advocates. DOE Last week, the DOE would not detail its preparation or purchase of halal and kosher foods. 'We are thrilled that our summer meals program is returning this year, making sure that our youngest New Yorkers are fed and nourished,'said DOE spokeswoman Jenna Lyle. Funding for the summer meal program comes out of the DOE's yearly $600 million budget for all school food.
