RALEIGH, N.C. - An investigation finds police and administrators at North Carolina's flagship public university were unprepared for demonstrators who tore down a campus Confederate memorial, but likely didn't conspire on the statue's removal.

[ALSO READ: UNC uproots historic 'Silent Sam' pedestal from campus overnight]

Those are some of the findings released Friday from a report prepared for the statewide university system's governors.

The investigation by outside attorneys says the protesters condemning the statue on the University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus as a racist symbol were better-organized and prepared than police anticipated. The law firm says it didn't find evidence of a conspiracy among police, administrators, and demonstrators to topple the statue last August.

Past coverage on Silent Sam:

• Athletes petition against $5M building on UNC campus to house Silent Sam statue
• Deadline extended for UNC officials' plan for 'Silent Sam'
• Protesters topple Confederate statue 'Silent Sam' on UNC campus
• Protesters topple Confederate statue 'Silent Sam' on UNC campus
• Hundreds protest on UNC campus against 'Silent Sam' Confederate statue
• UNC students protest 'Silent Sam' Confederate statue
• UNC at Chapel Hill could be sued over Confederate statue 

Campus Chancellor Carol Folt's last day was Thursday after she unilaterally ordered the removal of the Confederate soldier statue's stone base last month.

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