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2 Xavier officers fired, security director resigns after students allegedly pepper-sprayed

Two unidentified Xavier University police officers were fired after they allegedly pepper-sprayed students on campus.

Two Xavier University police officers were fired and the Director of Public Safety resigned after students were allegedly pepper-sprayed after a campus event that started late Monday night.

According to statement from Xavier University, the two unidentified officers were "permanently relieved of their duties and removed from campus."

"The decision was made to release the officers involved in the incident. I will say that on review of all of the evidence that we were able to get our hands on and witness testimony, it was determined that this egregious behavior on the parts of these two officers, could not be tolerated by Xavier University- and the determination was made to released them from duty here," Patrice Bell Mercadel, Chief of Staff for Xavier University said.

Director of Public Safety, Jacques S. Battiste, submitted his resignation as well. Battiste held that position for a little over a year. Prior to his role, he had a lengthy career with the FBI.

"What I can say is that he made a determination on his own to tender that resignation and we accept it," Bell Mercadel said.

The encounter with officers followed the school’s traditional midnight breakfast in advance of final exams. According to students in attendance, the doors to the building were locked after cafeteria workers complained that students left a mess behind.

MORE: Xavier students say they were locked in school, pepper-sprayed; officers on administrative leave

Students said they were confused when gates were locked at the end of the event. Some students said they tried to rush out of the area via different buildings when the encounter occurred.

A couple of the students said they were pepper-sprayed.

"I remember talking to an officer and I was like, 'This is illegal, you can't leave us in here.' And she said, 'It's illegal to by triflin.' And she just laughed at the situation," Sophomore Alexis Walker said.

"Sodexo staff closed the gates of the cafeteria and didn't allow any of the students to leave cause they wanted them to clean up their mess. The problem with that was they didn't effectively communicate that to the students-so a lot of them weren't aware of why they were being held," Sophomore Tia Alexander said.

The two officers involved were placed on administrative leave after the incident occurred on Dec. 3 and fired as of Wednesday afternoon.

“I am deeply disturbed by the incident that took place on Monday night involving our students. Incidents like these do not reflect the core values of our university and are unacceptable,” states Dr. Reynold Verret, President of Xavier University of Louisiana.

Administrators held a listening session with students Tuesday to find out what occurred. Students expressed that oftentimes, they feel like their problems on campus are not taken seriously.

"We hear things and then say 'you're going to do this. you're going to do that. But then nothing really happens or it takes a while for it to happen," Junior Tyler Lewis said.

Freshman Kalanni Grady feels good knowing this time around, the school is taking swift action.

"You know there's always things that can be improved and I'm just thankful that we're doing that," Grady said.

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