The New York City Police Department knew “the world was watching us” when officers stormed a Columbia University building occupied by anti-Israel protesters, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell told Newsmax on Thursday.

The university “didn’t have an ‘after-action’ plan following arrests on campus April 18,” Chell told “Wake Up America,” adding, despite negotiations between the school, students, “and outside agitators,” police “had to go in there two nights ago.”

“We had to clear the campus grounds, we had to take back Hamilton Hall,” he said. “The plan was precise. We went really heavy, and we had no incidents, and we knew the world was watching us. The city was watching. And we set that tone, and we took back that campus.”

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