GPSG calls for dismissal of UNC Police officer for 'brutalization of student activists'

On Nov. 12, the Graduate and Professional Student Government passed a resolution calling for the dismissal of UNC Police Captain Rahsheem Holland citing Holland’s repeated violent conduct as a threat to student safety.

Video and photo of Holland on April 30, when UNC Police officers followed Chancellor Lee Roberts into a crowd of protesters, has garnered significant media attention. Holland was seen pushing a barricade on a student in a wheelchair, grabbing a student by the ponytail and throwing another student on the ground. Additionally, Holland was accused with punching a student protester in the face in 2021, during the protests about Nikole Hannah-Jones. 

A statement from UNC Media Relations said that the University is unable to comment on incidents concerning specific officers due to state public records law.

"Student safety is the University’s top priority," the statement said. "UNC-Chapel Hill reviews complaints and allegations and determines findings based on applicable policies and North Carolina statutes."

The statement also said that Roberts, Provost Chris Clemens, chief of UNC Police Brian James and Holland were not available to comment on the resolution. 

“I don't think there's any way that you can look at this resolution as an administrator and disagree with it,” said Alonna Despain, a graduate student senator and one of the co-authors of the bill. “Because if you do that, you are effectively saying, ‘I am okay if the students at my university experience physical and psychological harm.’”

GPSG calls for student safety

The GPSG resolution is not the first call for Holland's removal. The Black Student Movement and UNC National Association for the Advancement of Colored People put out statements in 2021 declaring his presence a threat to Black students. More recently, the student advocacy group TransparUNCy, has issued a statement demanding Holland be fired.

The resolution passed the full GPSG Senate on Nov. 12 with a vote of 38 to 4.

Nyssa Tucker, a graduate student senator and co-author of the resolution, said she doesn't expect the administration to respond directly, but she hopes it sends a message.

"This message is less for the police, less for administration — they already know how we feel," she said. "This is for the community beyond UNC. This is for everyone to know that there are people willing to who are doing this."

Because it passed, copies of the resolution were delivered to a list of University administrators along with GSPG President Katie Heath. Heath did not respond to request for comment by the time of publication.

Despain and Tucker both said they think the GSPG has a responsibility to take action to make the campus safer for student activists because of inaction from other branches of student government. Tucker specifically mentioned a "conservative takeover" of Undergraduate Senate that she thinks needs to be addressed. 

In early October, the GPSG passed no-confidence resolutions against Roberts and Clemens, which were then converted to joint governance bills that failed due to the lack of support in Undergraduate Senate. In a November Board of Trustees meeting, Trustee Marty Kotis praised the Undergraduate for their "political savvy and poise." 

"I just think that we definitely need to make that body more representative than it is," Despain said. "I don't think that it currently embodies what the UNC undergraduate campus body value as a whole. And it seems to have been a couple very small circles who are able to express their thoughts and opinions on that."

Matthew Tweden, the speaker of the Undergraduate Senate, provided an email statement in response to the GPSG resolution: 

"The GPS Senate is free to pass messaging statements that alienate key institutional partners. Our record speaks for itself: the very first position adopted in the 106th Senate affirmed our commitment to free speech and open discourse."

In his statement, Tweden also wrote that the Undergraduate Senate is planning to pass legislation to support a permanent program for accessible feminine hygiene products, which he said resulted from differing views on what student government is supposed to deliver to the student body. Tweden did not directly respond to claims of a "conservative takeover."

Policing on campus

Christina, a student who was thrown to the grown by Holland on April 30, says she hasn't felt safe on campus since the altercation. She sought medical attention in mid-May, and was diagnosed with symptoms of a concussion.

A statement from Media Relations said that the University is unable to comment on formal complaints against individuals due to the North Carolina Human Resources Act.

"The Chief of Police consults with University Human Resources regarding appropriate disciplinary action if a violation of policy has been determined," the statement said.  

She said police presence on campus has only made her feel more unsafe this semester, mentioning the increased security around activism by Students for Justice in Palestine, including a vigil the group organized on Oct. 7.   

"People were grieving, people were sobbing," she said. "And to have cop cars outside watching us, on top of them purposely bringing in fencing around the time of the vigil — it was a signal to us that you are not allowed to mourn, that we are not allowed to grieve."

Student and activist Laura Saavedra also alleges UNC Police officers pushed her out of her wheelchair in late September in pursuit of a warrant relating to vandalism committed at a Sept. 19 protest. A statement from James in September confirmed that the student did fall during the interaction after "a struggle" ensued between the student and the officers. 

"It's been very clear in the administration's decision making that activists and students of color are not very prioritized in terms of safety," Christina said.

She said she appreciates the resolution, and hopes Holland is fired to ensure some amount of accountability. There also needs to be something else done to address the culture within the police department, she said. 

"I want to see something happen within UNCPD," she said. "When I leave campus my senior year, I want to know that students will no longer feel that they are being [under] surveillance unequally, to know that they are safe at a protest, that they won't be attacked by a police officer, and that they won't have to go to a hospital to get checked for a head injury or any type of bodily injury."

The statement from Media Relations directed complaints to the formal UNCPD reporting system.

"The UNC Police Commendation and Complaint Procedures webpage outlines the investigative process for allegations and complaints of misconduct. Individuals should report complaints through the Concerns and Commendations Form," the statement said.  

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