Viral video shows Black N.C. college student being led out of class in handcuffs after a dispute with her professor

By David K. Li, NBC News

Viral video of North Carolina police taking a Black college student out of class in handcuffs as classmates looked on in horror raised questions about whether law enforcement intervention was necessary and outraged some, as it unfolded at a historically Black institution.

The incident, which occurred Wednesday in a classroom at Winston-Salem State University after a dispute between the student and her professor, was captured by multiple students on their cellphones. At least one video on TikTok had gained more than 4 million views by late Thursday afternoon.

In the video, two police officers put cuffs on the student. While she can be seen and heard berating the professor, the student later says she is only responding to the teacher, who had raised her voice first.

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“In any classroom power struggle or dispute, there is not a single scenario in which a law enforcement officer should be called into a classroom,” said Erika Strauss Chavarria, an organizer of Black Lives Matter at Schools. “That goes for public schools, pre-K through 12, colleges and universities.”

That police were called on a student at a historically Black university, an institution that is intended to be a safe space for Black students, was not lost on some.

As one TikTok user put it: “Using the police as a weapon at an HBCU is wild.”

Keep reading this article at NBC.

Police presence in schools has been criticized because of the impact on student’s mental health, especially when children have been arrested.

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