This afternoon, Bwog received the following anonymous tip in regards to an incident outside of Carman Hall:

Spotted around 11:40 AM
A safety guard and a Carman 5 resident in an intense physical fight outside Carman. Student (shirtless) tries to flee is pursued and subsequently attacked by guard. Trail of 4 or 5 other guards run towards the scene. Crowd watching with phones out.

The following public tweet has been shared with a picture of the incident described above. The face of the student has been blurred to protect their identity. It is clear in the photo that the student is placed in a chokehold by an officer (it is unclear if it is an NYPD officer or a Public Safety officer.) However, an NYPD official can be seen observing the incident in the reflection on the door. The man in the white shirt to the left of the student is also an NYPD Sergeant given the three stripes on his shirt sleeve.

Shortly after, a Bwogger tipped they had also heard of a similar incident occurring in Hartley Hall this morning. A friend of the Bwogger said they had seen a similar incident involving a first year student and two Public Safety officers. It is unclear if the two incidents were related.

Update, 8:42 PM: A University spokesperson responded to Bwog with the following statement:

On Thursday, March 12th 2015, at approximately 11:15 a.m. a Columbia affiliate was detained by Columbia Public Safety, after exhibiting disturbing behavior in the lobby of an undergraduate University residential building, and while awaiting the arrival of residential programs staff, the affiliate decided to flee the area. The affiliate was intercepted in the vestibule of another undergraduate residential building, and although resisted, was restrained by Public Safety officers.  No injuries were sustained and minimal force was used, consistent with Public Safety training and Article 35 of the New York State Penal Code (which states that use of physical force is taken only when necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury).  The use of force of any kind is rare at Columbia thanks to the shared communication, respect and trust within our community.