x
Breaking News
More () »

Xavier students say they were locked in school, pepper-sprayed; officers on administrative leave

The incident was recounted in a meeting between students and administration Tuesday afternoon at the school.

NEW ORLEANS – Two Xavier University police officers were put on administrative leave after students reported being pepper sprayed on campus. The encounter with officers followed the school’s traditional midnight breakfast in advance of final exams.

The incident was recounted in a meeting between students and administration Tuesday afternoon at the school.

"I want to make an apology for what you witnessed, what some of you experienced and what some of you have heard about," said Curtis Wright, the vice-president for student affairs. "This is not who we are and this is not what we are about."

Wright told the students that the officials involved in the incident had been placed on administrative leave, pending a full investigation.

During the meeting several students described confusion when gates were locked at the end of the event. Some students said they tried to rush out of the area via different buildings when the encounter occurred.

The cafeteria staff, they got really upset and they locked us in the building. They closed the gate on us," Sophomore Alexis Walker said.

They didn't effectively communicate that with the students so, alot of people weren't aware why they were being held," Tia Alexander said.

A couple of the students said they were pepper sprayed.

"I remember talking to an officer and I was like, "This is illegal, you can't leave us in here. And she said, 'It's illegal to by triflin.' And she just laughed at the situation," Walker said.

Senior Prinsey Walker was also there. She said what happened was a result of poor decisions that escalated into something that got out of hand. She has attended the event for several years.

"It was not locked, they just closed it and they want students to clean it up. At the end of Midnight Breakfast" people are dancing, food is everywhere. Plates are left out on tables. And last night, I saw boys throwing napkins and people were just having a good time. But then when the party's over, no one wants to stay behind and help staff clean up and make sure that the space that we have and the space that we should respect is maintained," Prinsey Walker said.

Xavier University officials tell Eyewitness News they are investigating the incident and that right now two officers are on paid administrative leave. Authorities would not give us any information on the identity or background of the two officers.

“At the close of this event, an incident occurred that does not reflect Xavier’s mission or legacy,” said a letter from President Reynold Verrett to the Xavier student body. “Please know that you are valued and your concerns are important to me. I am reviewing how we treat and serve you on all fronts to insure you receive the care and respect you deserve from all of us.”

Tuesday afternoon campus leaders held a listening session in order to find out from the students what exactly happened and what other concerns they may have.

"We were there to listen to them. To work together to address any concerns that they had. Give them a safe space to share whatever concerns they wanted to share with us as it relates to this incident or others, Patrice Bell Mercadel, Chief of Staff at Xavier University said.

But it's incidents like the one last night that many students say goes to show that their voices are rarely heard.

"We have had sexual assaults on campus. There's break in's, stuff like that. They said they were going to put up lights on this very street," Walker said.

"We've launched the XULA safe app in the past three months. We have installed additional lighting in collaboration with partners around the city both on Pine Street and on Dixon and we have more plans for lighting to improve," Bell Mercadel said.

Prinsey Walker hopes what happened last night doesn't take away from a great event.

Xavier University is a wonderful university. Midnight breakfast is sone of the funnest events before finals and I would hate to see it go. Hopefully in the future we'll have students who will make better decisions but most importantly we'll have police officers who'll make greater decisions," Prinsey Walker said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out