After a student came to The Nightly with concerns about UW Police Chief Wilson’s conduct this summer, we decided to write an article to look deeper into the department. We started by sitting down with a student using the alias Flotsam for personal safety.

“I was flyering for a cause,” Flotsam told The Nightly, “I saw someone walking by and I tried to give them a flyer. At that point, he swept his jacket to the side so that I could see the gun he had concealed there.” They later learned that the man was Craig Wilson, UWPD Chief. Thankfully, Wilson reconciled the gun and did not escalate the situation further.

However, this interaction left a lasting impression on Flotsam. “Wilson was clearly being intimidating and it was really scary. He made me feel afraid. Seeing a gun is a frightening experience for anyone, especially in a college setting in America. I find it sad that Wilson went straight to aggression and refused to talk with my fellow students and I.”

Over the last couple of years, multiple incidents have made it clear that the University of Washington’s Police Department is home to racism and right-wing sentiment. In 2021, the New York Times reported on a “culture of entrenched racism” within the department, including but not limited to racial slurs, derogatory and racist comments, hostility towards black employees, and hostility towards members of the public. This prompted the university to replace then-interim director, Randall West, with Craig Wilson who was confirmed as chief of police last year. However, since Wilson has taken power, many of UWPD’s interactions with the public have remained negative and antagonistic.

Back in 2022, UWPD was sent to an on-campus march for reproductive rights prior to the repeal of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court. One student who was at the march discussed the UWPD’s actions with us anonymously:

“Overall the protest was extremely successful with a turnout of thousands of people. We set up a bicycle barrier in order to protect the crowd. There were a few agitated drivers but it wasn’t too bad until the UWPD showed up. A UWPD car tried to drive into us students holding up the barrier. They drove at us really fast, thankfully turning to the right just feet before hitting us to avoid killing me. The UWPD car flew up onto the sidewalk and into some mud.”

While no one was injured UWPD’s stunt had serious impacts.

“In the moment, I was horrified. That was the least of our worries though because, while we were trying to regain our composure after the UWPD tried to hit us, a far-right agitator almost made it through the barrier and to the crowd in a truck. This could have put a lot of students in danger.”

There are countless other examples of UWPD targeting their political opposition including a peaceful demonstration last October that we reported on where UWPD and others within the university were deployed to harass and intimidate students and other youth.

After both interviews, we looked deeper into the UWPD’s history with campus protests and found a Daily article from 2019. The Daily reported on a far-right protest in Red Square. In attendance was Patriot Prayer, a fascist group from Southern Washington that often has white supremacists attend its rallies. Despite their extremist beliefs, UWPD and the University of Washington didn’t seem to have a problem with their ideology. Instead, UWPD formed a barricade to protect the hate group from students and counter-protesters.