NAACP call for removal of UNC acting police chief accused of punching student protester

About 30 students attended a protest on Monday afternoon, organized by the newly formed UNC-Chapel Hill NAACP chapter.

Video shows Holland pushing students protesting to the ground, outside of a closed June 30 Board of Trustees meeting that was discussing whether or not Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones would receive tenure or not. Hannah-Jones, a Black woman, was initially denied tenure by the board after her anti-racism work was seen as too controversial.

The group Black Student Movement said that their vice president, Julia Clark, was punched in the face while protesting. She posted a picture of her bruised face on Twitter.

"Officer Holland put his hands on me today and punched me hard enough that my mask flew off my face and a bruise is left on my cheek," Clark wrote.

UNC Police have not replied to WRAL's request for comment on this incident.

At the time, Holland was assistant chief of police. But less than a week after the incident, UNC-Chapel Hill announced the resignation of Chief David Perry and said Holland, who has worked at the university for 20 years, would temporarily take charge of the department. The university is currently conducting a nationwide search for its next police chief.

The student group says Holland should have never been promoted, and instead should have been fired.

"Not only does his pending promotion create a clear and present threat to the safety of Black student at UNC, but it further demonstrates this university's commitment to the suffering of Black students and their comfortability with violence being perpetrated against us," a statement from Black Student Movement said.

Kevin Guskiewicz, chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, said that he wants to maintain the public's trust as it relates to community policing.

"We know there are questions and concerns about officers’ actions during the June 30 Board of Trustees meeting, and I have directed Vice Chancellor of Institutional Integrity and Risk Management George Battle to coordinate an external review of officers’ body camera footage," he said.

Their protest comes one day after two men threatened to vandalize a memorial on UNC-Chapel Hill's campus that honored enslaved African Americans. The men waved Confederate flags, flashed white power symbols and made references to owning slaves.

Faculty and students at UNC say that the decision to deny Hannah-Jones tenure has tarnished the university's reputation. Student protesters said on Monday that the current climate on campus has emboldened these white supremacist protesters.

Police said they watched the two men waving Confederate flags until they left campus after about an hour. Because UNC-Chapel Hill is a state agency, they said they must allow free speech and demonstrations, even if they do not agree with the values of the campus.