Black American U student dragged by police out of her dorm under false claims

The Glover Gate of American University in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

This week students at American University staged protests after a Black female student was dragged out of her living quarters by campus police.

According to Patch, Monday, a video surfaced online of Gianna Wheeler being forcefully removed on Sept. 27 from her Washington, D.C. campus apartment by university police officers.

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URGENT: @AmericanU has allowed for their clientele and DC PD to violently attack and remove a young Black student from her home without proper evidence. When is it EVER ok for a young woman to be attacked by MULTIPLE cops. AU doesn’t care about its Black students. #HandsOffGianna pic.twitter.com/7NZP0gyCHC — Aminta (@tangibleunknown) September 27, 2019

“You’re dragging me,” the young woman can be heard shouting in the video, before challenging police and demanding, “get off of me.”

She also shouted to onlookers: “AU treats their Black students,” informing those watching, “This is my dorm room.”

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Black Morning! Yesterday was Powerful, as we took to our streets for a #DayOfOutOutrage We would like to thank everyone who came out to #ProtectOurSisters @AmericanU students Rise Up!#HandsOffGianna She was found Not Guilty of all charges @untilfreedom #WeKeepUsSafe #sayhername pic.twitter.com/v9tSKMt0cT — BlackLivesMatter DC (@DMVBlackLives) October 29, 2019

The video was shared by Aminta Zea, an American University sociology student on the same day that local protesters demonstrated outside of a disciplinary hearing for Wheeler.

Tuesday, Black Lives Matter D.C., the group that organized the rally in support of Wheeler, confirmed in a tweet and online that she was ultimately found not guilty of conduct violations, after she was falsely accused by another student of physical assault.

Initially, American University sent police to Wheeler’s apartment to perform a wellness check on her.

“What should have been the university’s earnest concern about the mental and emotional well-being of the student, was weaponized and used to permanently traumatize Gianna,” organizers rhetorically asked online.

“Recently we have seen how the egregious misapplication of force, and the police state mentality can lead to state sanctioned murder, as in the case of Atatiana Jefferson,” the statement continued. “Black and brown students have the right to feel safe in their dorms; supported by their schools through their mental health issues, and not have those issues used as justification of violation of their other rights.”

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