PRESS RELEASE- For Immediate Release 

Police Infiltration of Student Group Just the Latest in Ongoing Harassment by the UWPD
On April 8, plainclothes UW police officer Tanesha Van Leuven infiltrated and participated in a student organization meeting to plan a campus strike on May 3.  The action will include all-day picket lines beginning at 8am at 15th & 40th, and an 11am picnic with picketers.
In an interview with KIRO, UW Police Commander Jerome Solomon openly admitted the infiltration, stating, "We saw that they were having an open meeting and we sent an officer in plain clothes."  Solomon confirmed that the plainclothes officer did not identify herself as law enforcement.  The Student Worker Coalition welcomes the administration's recognition that the UW Police Department's conduct was unacceptable.  Associate Vice President Norm Arkans correctly notes, "When something like this happens, it erodes trust among elements in our community." 
The administration is incorrect, however, to suggest that the incident represents an isolated "error in judgment."  Police intimidation of student and worker activists occurs routinely on campus.  Although the administration may oppose police intimidation on paper, the University has condoned the UWPD's ongoing and systematic harassment of campus activists, despite longstanding and well-publicized efforts by ourselves and other activists to hold campus police accountable to the university community. 
Coalition members have made it clear to the University administration that police intimidation was unacceptable since the UWPD first began to target us in 2009.  The University has failed to act on these complaints, meaningfully hold the UWPD accountable, or implement police accountability structures to receive and investigate complaints about the UWPD.