Officer suspended after confrontation with campus protesters caught on tape

City University of New York suspended one of its police officers after a confrontation with pro-Palestinian protesters during its commencement ceremony on Thursday.

The College of Staten Island was in the middle of its graduation for over 2,000 students when protesters clashed with officers. Sgt. Donald Girard was captured on camera yelling at the protesters with other officers behind him without any weapons drawn. Protesters yelled back at him, claiming he supported genocide.

“I support genocide — I support killing all of you guys; how about that?” Girard is heard in the video that is circulating on social media. When another protester is heard telling him, “f*** your mother,” Girard repeats the refrain to the protester who yelled it.

CSI President Timothy Lynch issued a statement Friday lamenting that the incident “may have a lasting impact on many in our community” and offered counseling for those involved.

“We want to be clear that the offensive language used by this officer does not reflect the views or values of the College of Staten Island, CUNY, or our dedicated Public Safety staff of over 50 officers. We deeply regret that this incident occurred on such an important day for our graduates and their families,” the statement read. “We are conducting a detailed investigation and review of the incident to determine further appropriate action.”

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Police presence at various commencement ceremonies has increased across the country amid the protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Most mid-commencement protests have occurred without incident, as students have simply walked out of speeches given by comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA).

As the end of the school year comes to a close, most encampments in the name of Palestinians have been broken up. Police have been forced to arrest as many as 2,300 protesters who refused to leave campus, even though many have been proven to have no affiliation with these universities.