WKAR News has obtained footage of a brawl in downtown East Lansing on Aug. 23 that spurred allegations of excessive use of police force. VIEW THE VIDEO HERE.
The footage, shared by Okemos nonprofit the Honey Bear Project, shows multiple fights breaking out and police appearing to spray an unidentified liquid into the crowd before making an arrest.
Lansing NAACP President Harold Pope said the East Lansing Police Department had agreed to share footage from the body-worn cameras of the officers involved in the incident.
But the department has denied Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the footage, including one from WKAR News.
“They want to say that the videos that we have only tell part of the story, but they won’t share any of the other body-worn camera footage to help us get a better picture,” Pope said.
“When you look at the social media, it looks like they (the police) overreacted,” he added.
East Lansing Police Chief Jen Brown said in a statement last month that police made multiple arrests, including two individuals wielding knives.
She said the department is is “reviewing what footage, if any, can be released so that it does not jeopardize open investigations and prosecution of arrested individuals.”
Brown added that some officers “were assaulted while attempting to do their jobs to maintain order and ensure a safe environment” during an “otherwise typical return for students.”
Nadia Sellers leads the Honey Bear Project, an Okemos nonprofit that was among the first to highlight the incident and accuse officers with the East Lansing Police Department of using excessive force.
She told WKAR News reporter Ed Coury police appeared unprepared for the influx of activity associated with students returning to Michigan State University’s campus after an uneventful summer.
“Sometimes, when you don’t have a lot to do and you’re hired as a police officer to make a difference, to make arrests, to serve the public, things happen,” Sellers said. “You may get a little overexcited and make mistakes, like spray pepper spray at a group of kids and not concerning yourself with who gets hit with the chemicals, or arresting folks who don’t need to be arrested because you’re amped up, your ego is pumping, adrenaline is going and you’re just not thinking.”
Sellers predicted the city will likely be hit with several lawsuits because of the incident.
“The sad thing about that is when you don’t get justice, you get settlements. And East Lansing doesn’t have any money,” Sellers said, referring to the city’s budget deficit.
Sellers plans to attend the East Lansing City Council meeting on Sept. 9 to oppose a change proposed in contract talks between the city and its police union that the Lansing NAACP says would reduce the authority of the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission. WKAR News will be in attendance.
The branch said the change would bar the commission from investigating or weighing in on discipline until after the police department finished its own internal investigation and could restrict the release of officer names or footage from body-worn cameras.
“The lack of transparency surrounding the incidents in August where the ELPD pepper sprayed students and others as well as tasing one individual shows the absolute need for an independent oversight commission,” Pope said in a statement.
The Independent Police Oversight Commission held meetings on Aug. 18 and Aug. 29 to discuss the proposed changes.
Sellers said the commission’s power should be expanded, not restricted.
“These officers are paid by the community. They deserve to be served,” Sellers said. “It should be respect, not fear. Right now, it’s fear, not respect.”
If you have eyewitness video you would like to share with WKAR News, please send it to news@wkar.org
