ASU police chief to retire months after being placed on paid leave

TEMPE, AZ (AZ Family) — Arizona State University Police Chief Michael Thompson is retiring from the department, the university confirmed Thursday.

The move comes three months after Thompson was placed on paid administrative leave over the police department’s handling of protests that occurred on the Tempe campus.

In late April, dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered to protest the war between Israel and Hamas and demanded that the university stop doing business with companies that support Israel and disclose investments made with student tuition.

In early May, Thompson was placed on leave following a series of complaints about police actions during protests and the dismantling of an encampment on the alumni lawn. Deputy Police Chief John Thompson was named interim chief.

Chief Michael Thompson’s resignation will take effect on August 24. The university’s statement follows:

“ASU Police Chief Michael Thompson has announced his retirement from the university, effective Aug. 24.

“Thompson has been with the ASU Police since 2008 and was promoted to chief in 2014. Prior to that, he served more than 20 years with the Mesa Police Department. The university community appreciates his years of dedicated service to ASU and wishes him the best.”

The Arizona family has learned that attorneys for an ASU student who was arrested have filed a notice of claim, a precursor to a possible lawsuit, against the Arizona Board of Regents.

The claim notice seeks a settlement for $1,000,000.

The lawsuit, filed July 3, says the student participated in a peaceful sit-in protest in front of Old Main on the morning of April 26 and that within minutes, ASU police officers arrived and arrested him without warning. Attorneys say in the lawsuit notice that “at no time did Plaintiff assault, harass or otherwise intimidate anyone.”

The document adds that the student was searched, his belongings were confiscated and he was held against his will without probable cause for about 25 hours. The charges were dismissed a few weeks later.

The lawsuit says ASU administration also notified the student that his enrollment was immediately suspended and that he was not allowed on campus facilities. That included on-campus housing, forcing him to be “homeless for the last week of the spring semester” and putting his academic future in limbo.

The university reported that 72 arrests were made during the April 26-27 protests. Reports later emerged that ASU police officers forcibly removed the hijabs of four students.

A video also went viral showing a postdoctoral researcher confronting a woman at a pro-Israel rally. ASU officials responded to the video, saying that Jonathan Yudelman “is no longer allowed on campus and will never teach here again.”

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