Brown University president apologizes for suspected assault of visiting student

[November 16, 2015]  (Reuters) - Brown University's president has apologized and called for a probe of a university security officer suspected of assaulting a visiting student attending a Latino Ivy League conference, according to a social media video posted over the weekend.

"It is breaking my heart," Christina Paxson said in a meeting with students on Saturday and posted on social media. "We know that the officer will not be on street duty until this is resolved." Paxson's office was not immediately available for comment.

Paxson's comments were met with scepticism and derision from many students, who said in the meeting that the university is not doing enough to make sure minorities are treated fairly.

The Providence Journal reported that the student was a delegate from Dartmouth and the incident led to the postponement of the conference.

The student said he was targeted by a campus officer, who slammed him to the ground by him and threatened with pepper spray.

The incident comes as increased attention is being paid to racial discrimination on U.S. college campuses following the University of Missouri's president stepping down this month after protests over what many students said was the soft handling of reports of racial abuse on campus.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Christian Plumb)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.