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The East Lansing Police Department will dedicate two officers to the city’s downtown area.
East Lansing City Council members voted Tuesday night to approve the positions, which will be funded by the Downtown Development Authority.
The positions were recommended by Police Chief Jen Brown to address what she says is an increase in crime downtown.
The East Lansing Police Department has faced criticism for their handling of multiple incidents downtown during Michigan State University’s Welcome Weekend in August. Some of those incidents have sparked lawsuits for the city over allegations of excessive use of force and libel.
Brown says the new officers dedicated to the downtown area could participate in community engagement activities.
“At one point we had a proactive enforcement team that worked with the community; they did fundraisers, they did coat drives, they did a variety of things with the community,” Brown said. “That may be an option as well, to go back and look at putting a team like that together.”
Brown said they would assign experienced officers to the beat and would train officers for interactions with certain groups, like the city’s unhoused population.
Council members voted just before midnight to postpone a decision on proposed ordinances that would ban camping in public spaces and loitering in city parking structures.
The proposals drew backlash from housing advocates and civil rights groups who said the proposals were overly vague and would unfairly impact the city’s unhoused population, some of whom sleep on sidewalks downtown.
Council members plan to consider possible amendments and alternatives after meeting with groups opposing the ordinances, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, last week.
“People are concerned about some of the language, so we want to talk that through,” Councilmember Steve Whelan said.
Possible alternatives and amendments will be included in the agenda packet for the City Council’s March 10 discussion-only meeting.
Council members could then act on the proposals the following week.
