ASU Police Chief Michael Thompson to Retire Amid Campus Protest Response Fallout

Arizona State University Police Chief Michael Thompson is set to retire later this month following a period of paid administrative leave that began after the university's police department's response to campus protests in April. The retirement, taking effect on August 24, culminates a career with ASU Police that began in 2008 and saw Thompson ascend to the chief position in 2014, after more than twenty years with the Mesa Police Department. FOX 10 Phoenix reported, "Thompson has been with ASU Police since 2008 and was promoted to chief in 2014. He previously spent more than 20 years with the Mesa Police Department. The university community appreciates his years of dedicated service to ASU and wishes him well."

Thompson had been on leave since May after the police department faced heavy criticism over its approach to handling protests against the Israel-Hamas war. The protests, which aimed to push for the university to sever ties with companies supporting Israel and demand transparency in the use of student tuition for investments, led to nearly 70 arrests over the course of two days. Amidst the unrest, ASU officials were also to review several complaints related to these events, the details of which have not been disclosed publicly, Arizona Family reports.

The fallout from these events included implications for students beyond the arrests. One student gathered enough evidence to file a notice of claim against the Arizona Board of Regents, alleging that their wrongful arrest led to a 25-hour detainment without probable cause, followed by a suspension of enrollment and eviction from campus housing. The students' attorneys stated in the notice of claim obtained by Arizona Family, "at no time did Claimant assault, harass, or otherwise intimidate anyone."

Furthermore, there were reports of four students who had their hijabs forcibly removed during the police intervention, escalating concerns about religious freedoms and the sensitivity of police response to protest activities. This has added to the contention surrounding the $1,000,000 settlement sought in the notice of claim mentioned earlier. Meanwhile, a video showing a confrontation at a pro-Israel rally led to ASU deciding that postdoctoral research scholar Jonathan Yudelman would "no longer permitted to be on campus and will never teach here again," as authorities dealt with the public relations and legal tangents sparked from their handling of the April protests.