While covering a Nov. 10 protest led by @copsoutofNU, I spo…

As of yesterday, we learned EPD police chief is responsible for all NIPAS calls and behavior, including calling for the firing of pepper balls on NU students on 10/31. Some of these students needed medical attention.

And while NIPAS, with their numbers and ammunition, appears chiefly responsible for larger, crowd control activities, EPD typically handles arrests.

I've spotted EPD arrest vehicles present at almost every NUCNC protests, big or small.

While covering NUCNC, I've noticed esp. in higher-income, White parts of Evanston that residents see the police relationship as peaceful.

( I work at a a local Evanston restaurant, and customers will often offer to pay for EPD officers meals when they eat at the restaurant.)

The idea, it seems to me, is that many residents in these higher-income, predominantly White parts of Evanston see the community as a gold-standard, liberal community where police and citizens get along.

When police are recorded engaging in violence, the blame shifts elsewhere.

In the case of the 10/31 protest, that blame shifted toward NIPAS. Residents saw NIPAS as the "bad guys" (if residents saw the police activity as crossing a line at all, which some did not).

What's important to note about what we learned last night (Thanks @maia_spoto , @delaneygnelson , @whereisourtent , @alexhairysun) is that EPD and NIPAS are intertwined. EPD summons NIPAS and EPD makes many of the calls regarding NIPAS behavior.

And while there may be an ethos of protecting the citizens of Evanston, aggravated behavior toward students seems to be justified by painting the students as outsiders to the city, despite the fact that many NU students pay rent and work in the city and live here full time.

And for the sake of honoring the facts, I like to bump my coverage of the 10/31 protests whenever discussions about that night surface. This is the only on-the-ground coverage and some claims made by EPD are unverified.

https://t.co/VBK5X4VbnC

Also check out this thread where I face-checked some of the common claims from that night:

https://t.co/e9h3BJ6D5K

Today I heard NU pres. respond to student concerns about police aggression at @copsoutofNU protests with a comment about "conflicting narratives."

As the only reporter on the scene 10/31, here's an initial fact-check of things I've heard from admin + the community. THREAD:
— Binah Schatsky (@BinahSchatsky) November 19, 2020