Federal lawsuits were filed Thursday against the City of East Lansing and members of the East Lansing Police Department by two local men.
Lonnie Smith, 21, and Mason Woods, 22, were taking part in Michigan State University’s “Welcome Week” weekend when they were pepper sprayed by ELPD Officer Andrew Lyon and arrested outside a downtown Dave’s Hot Chicken on Aug. 24.
Attorney Jack Rucker of Nova Law is representing both men. He said Lyon deployed his pepper spray within 5-inches of Woods' and Smith’s faces, and that Lyon did so without warning.
“Had there actually been a direct contact for any amount of time between that OC spray and Lonnie Smith’s eye,” Rucker said, “it might well have damaged his eye.”
A month after the arrest, East Lansing Police Chief Jennifer Brown put out a news release, naming the two men and stating that “several ELPD officers responded to a crowd where they observed physical violence occurring between Smith and Woods.”
Chief Brown later told WLNS that East Lansing had a “disproportionate number of minorities come into the community and commit crimes and as police officers we are simply responding to those crimes.”
“The comments made by Chief Jen Brown after the press release, that is one of the unusually clear examples of a discriminatory policy,” Rucker said. “It is the policy of the East Lansing Police Department to treat minorities differently.”
Smith and Woods are both Black. Brown later apologized for those comments. Charges against Woods and Smith have been dropped.
The two men filed separate suits over the arrest and following events, each listing the City of East Lansing, Officer Lyon and Chief Brown as defendants. While the two lawsuits were filed separately, the accusations in both are largely the same.
The lawsuits accuse Officer Lyon of excessive force and battery against Smith and Woods when using pepper spray so close to their faces.
“You have the right under the Fourth Amendment to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures,” Rucker said. “A police use of force against you that is not supported by probable cause is a violation.”
Due to the lawsuits alleging a violation of the men’s Fourth Amendment rights, they have been filed in federal court.
The lawsuits also assert that the two men were falsely arrested and excessively detained following the arrests.
The City of East Lansing has been accused of creating and maintaining discriminatory policies in law enforcement. This, Rucker said, was made clear by Chief Brown’s comments about minorities and her dismissal of Officer Lyon’s use of force.
“That is showing that the highest levels of policing and law enforcement of East Lansing approve of what he did,” he said.
Both lawsuits also allege the City of East Lansing and Chief Brown engaged in libel when publishing the news release and allege Chief Brown’s comments to WLNS were slanderous.
Smith and Woods are seeking relief and damages, but the lawsuits don’t list a monetary value.
The City of East Lansing and the East Lansing Police Department declined to comment on Smith and Woods’ lawsuits.
