PHILADELPHIA – In a joint statement today, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer and City Solicitor Renee Garcia commented on the resolution of an encampment on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus:
“Today, the Philadelphia Police Department assisted at the request of the Penn Police in clearing an encampment on the University’s campus. Specifically, Penn Police arrested 33 individuals for the charge of defiant trespass and handed the arrestees off to Philadelphia Police, who processed the arrestees at another location and issued Code Violation Notices. The Sheriff’s Office also assisted in providing buses for transport. Thankfully, no one was injured during the encampment clearing.
«Penn first requested general assistance from the Parker Administration on Wednesday, May 1. From that day on, we were clear throughout that process that Philadelphia Police would provide backup assistance if arrests were made, or if the situation became dangerous or violent. We were also clear that we expected Penn to explore every option to resolve this matter peacefully.
«To that end, Mayor Parker made available her Chief of Public Safety Adam Geer and City Solicitor Renee Garcia, and worked with District Attorney Larry Krasner to assist in this effort. These public officials made numerous outreach efforts to both the students and the administration, offering to join the negotiations, to speak to the students separately, and to make connections to neutral third parties who we believed could bring the parties together.
«At the same time, to ensure safety in the event an agreement was not reached, Philadelphia Police offered and subsequently provided Civil Disorder Training to Penn Police over the course of three days this week. As is now clear, an agreement was not reached, and the University made the decision to clear the encampment. As such, Penn called, asked for assistance, and Philadelphia Police fulfilled its commitment to provide support. We are thankful that the clearing occurred without violence and express our deep gratitude to the men and women of our Police Department, who provided around the clock assistance to Penn over the last several weeks.”
