WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Hundreds of Purdue students are calling for change after a video of a university police officer detaining a student went viral.
That officer is now on leave after he and the Purdue University Police Department say they got death threats.
A statement from the Purdue police chief says they are investigating the threats, and the officer will be on leave until further notice.
Thursday night, students held a virtual meeting to discuss the changes they want to see.
Hundreds of students gathered both in person and virtually during the meeting led by Purdue’s Black Student Union.
The virtual meeting hit capacity so fast they had to open a second room and streamed it live on Instagram. That stream had more than 600 viewers at its peak.
“We need to have an honest conversation with Purdue police about how they should deal with their students and how we should move forward. Cause they’re not here right now, and I wish they were. So they could hear how we feel and where we’re at. Cause if they don’t understand where we’re coming from, then we won’t make any real change,” said one student at the meeting.
In the video, you can see a Purdue University officer struggling to restrain student Adonis Tuggle.
At one point, the officer puts his arm on Tuggle’s neck, and you hear him repeatedly say the officer is choking him.
The Purdue Police Department said the officer was responding to a domestic disturbance when the confrontation happened.
Several of the students at the meeting are now directly calling out Purdue’s president and board of trustees for what they call poor handling of the situation.
“I feel like actions after the event are helpful, but we really just need to be more proactive with accountability,” said one student.
Another added, “Police’s job is to make arrests, and yes that has value, but you can do that without putting your arms and knees on a Black person’s neck. That’s how you breathe, that’s how people die and how many videos do you need to see before we realize that’s not a proper way to make an arrest.”
Students took turns at the podium, voicing their concerns and sharing a collective list of what they believe is actionable change.
That includes a clear definition of “excessive use of force”, improved training on de-escalation tactics within Purdue’s police department, more support from university administration and better resources for students of color.
University officials say the meeting was a safe place for everyone to voice their opinions.
One student said, “While those officers certainly may have been at fault, I just don’t think the authorities have released enough information yet for us to make a judgment.”
Another added, “While we know that this was an excessive use of force, we need to define where that line is exactly so that we can make sure that this does not happen again.”
Purdue’s police chief says the officer involved was wearing a body camera and that will be released once the internal investigation is finished.
An external review of the incident will be done as well by Indiana State Police.
