Spain’s National Police is reviewing its handling of clashes at Madrid’s Complutense University. Five people were detained, while several protesters and two officers suffered minor injuries as the indefinite education strike began.
At about 11:00 on Wednesday, 14 October, pickets and police faced off near the Complutense University of Madrid’s faculties of Chemistry and Physical Sciences. The five people detained were suspected of assaulting an authority figure. Several protesters and two police officers suffered minor injuries, according to EFE and ABC. Police said officers intervened after demonstrators blocked movement through the campus and tried to break through a police cordon. The clashes came as an indefinite strike began across the Madrid region’s public education system.
Francisco Martín, the Government delegate in Madrid, requested an urgent inquiry after videos of the operation circulated. On 15 October, he said the National Police’s internal review had begun. Investigators will interview people and examine documents to establish what led to the use of force. The inquiry will assess whether the response met the requirements of necessity and proportionality. Disciplinary measures may follow its findings.
Martín’s public criticism of the operation was rare.
He called the footage severe and said it required an explanation, while insisting the inquiry must proceed with guarantees for all sides. Martín said he had not ordered the operation. Decisions about police conduct, he said, were made on the ground.
In an interview with TVE, Martín said the police response fell short of the proportionality expected of officers. He also defended the security forces, arguing that addressing excesses was necessary to protect their reputation. Police said demonstrators had tried to cross the cordon and attacked officers twice. The CNT union described the police action as violent and indiscriminate.
The university sector joined the wider education stoppage with a day of protests and walkouts. During the strike’s first week, protesters occupied lecture halls. Pickets were also held, alongside street demonstrations. Some protesters had spent the night in UCM’s Faculty of Information Sciences before continuing their action in the morning. Earlier reporting on the Madrid teachers’ strike recorded competing participation estimates from unions and the regional government in turnout reports. On 15 October, organizers scheduled further morning pickets from 08:00, followed by a rally outside the regional education department at noon.
Police unions Jupol and the Confederación Española de Policía called for Martín to resign after he said on RNE that he was seeking an urgent inquiry into the operation at Ciudad Universitaria. The unions said his remarks undermined the reputation of the specialist units involved. They argued that officers’ professionalism deserved respect.
