An economics professor at Emory University whose needlessly violent arrest was captured by a news crew on Thursday at the school’s pro-Palestine protest, is now facing charges for battery against a police officer.
In a disturbing video captured by CNN, Professor Caroline Fohlin approached several police officers as they wrestled one protester to the ground, forcefully shoving their head into the concrete sidewalk. “Oh my God, what are you doing?” Fohlin asked, horrified.
Fohlin yelled at the officers to “get away” from the student. She leaned down closer to the student, but did not touch them, or any of the officers.
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One cop raced up to her, grabbing her wrists. “Get on the fucking ground,” he yelled, pulling her away from the student. “Get on the ground, I said,” he repeated.
Fohlin opened her mouth to protest as the officer kept his grip locked on her wrist. “Do not, I’m a ...” she said, before the cop violently flipped her onto the ground, smashing her head into the sidewalk.
“Ow my head, you just hit my head on the concrete!” Fohlin yelled. Another cop joined to help press her into the ground. The two pinned her hands behind her back, as they proceeded to secure her hands with zip ties.
“I am a professor! I am a professor of economics,” she cried to onlookers. As the officers continued to tighten the ties on her wrists, Fohlin could be heard apologizing to them. “I reacted impulsively, I apologize. Please remove the handcuffs.”
Court filings in DeKalb County Jail, showed that charges have been filed against Fohlin: one for disorderly conduct, and another for simple battery against a police officer. A screenshot of the charges were shared on X by freelance reporter Robert Mackey.
Simple battery in Georgia, “applies when an individual is perceived as intentionally causing harm to a person. Specifically, this is making contact with someone in a threatening, provoking, intimidating manner,” according to Burns Smith and Law P.C. However, the video reveals that Fohlin did not injure, or even fight against her arresting officers.
In Georgia, a charge of simple battery carries a fine of $1,000 or 1 year in prison.
Fohlin was one of two professors arrested at the Emory protest on Thursday, the other was Noelle McAfee, the chair of the university’s philosophy department. Emory was the site of some of the most violent clashes between students and law enforcement since nationwide protests began. Cops deployed tear gas on protesters, and in one disturbing video, were seen tasing a medic as he lay handcuffed on the ground. According to one witness, the protest at Emory started off peaceful, until over 200 state troopers arrived to break it up.
At least 23 people were arrested on Thursday, on charges including disorderly conduct and obstruction of law enforcement officers. All have been granted bond, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Fohlin was granted a $50 bond on her charge of simple battery.
There is a chance, however that the charges against Fohlin and the others arrested at the Atlanta university will be dropped. On Friday, charges were dropped against all 57 protesters who were arrested at UT Austin on Wednesday.
Across the country, universities have continued to invite law enforcement onto their campuses to brutally disrupt the peaceful protests urging institutions to divest from companies supplying Israel with weapons used to murder tens of thousands in Gaza.
While university administrations continue to contend that increased security is meant to keep students safe, the threat of violence against students and faculty members, particularly people of color, continues to rise. On Thursday, one Columbia professor said he was racially profiled by the school’s beefed up campus security.
