Police release body cam video related to police stop at Rowan University

Glassboro, NJ (WTXF) - Glassboro police released body camera footage related to a police stop at Rowan University. Glassboro police say officers followed protocol and that the Rowan students complied with police.

FOX 29's spoke to the students Tuesday night.

"I'm super traumatized last night. I'm biting off all my nails. It's crazy. I couldn't sleep," said 21-year-old Altaif Hassan. He's reliving what he calls a terrifying moment that replays over and over in his mind, especially after seeing video of the police stop recorded by another student.

"When I saw the video I was horrified to see how many guns were pointed at me. At the time, I only saw what was in the mirror which was one or two guns," he said.

Altaif says he and his friend 18-year-old Giavanna Roberson were returning to campus from picking up his eyeglasses at a nearby store when they were pulled over by Glassboro police. He says they complied with every command and were eventually cuffed. He believes the incident is racial.

"I been getting pulled over for driving while black since freshman year. They check my car and never have they found anything--nothing," Altaif said.

Giavanna says it was frightening and shocking.

"It was eye opening for me. I never experienced anything like this. I've never had a gun pulled out on me. It was hard to sleep last night," she said.

A Rowan University spokesperson says Glassboro police received a call before 4:45 Monday afternoon about a possible armed assault or robbery at a strip mall two blocks from campus.

The spokesperson says a witness said Altaif's car, a black Charger, matched the description of the car involved. The spokesperson says police approached with weapons drawn based on the report that the suspects in the incident were armed. No weapons were found and the students were released with no charges. Altaif says the response was excessive.

"If somebody calls and says this person has a gun and he's on a campus around all these college students I expect the police to act like that. Two guns. One aimed at the driver and one aimed at the passenger. They had six guns plus an assault rifle," he said. The students met with university officials, student government and the student chapter of the NAACP this morning.

There will be an open forum for students to discuss the incident Friday. Glassboro's police chief says they are still investigating the incident. News of the incident spread on social media. Some people say police responded the right way based on the report of a suspect with a gun on campus.

Rowan University Student Government Association released the following statement: