State Lawmakers Urge East Lansing to Reconsider HRC Limits in Letter to City Council
State Reps. Penelope Tsernoglou and Julie Brixie are urging the East Lansing City Council to reconsider recent ordinance changes that stripped much of the power from the city’s Human Rights Commission, according to a letter obtained by East Lansing Info.
In June, the City Council voted to weaken the HRC’s powers after the commission investigated the city’s police department for pepper-spraying and publicizing the arrest of two young Black men last year. Security footage of the incident that was later released shows one of the men intervened in an altercation involving his friend before an ELPD officer deployed pepper-spray on both men. Charges against the men were later dropped and they are now suing the city.
The HRC investigated a complaint about the incident, despite city attorneys advising against it. The body found the men’s civil rights were violated, ordering the city to pay them $50,000 each, post a retraction for the press release that named the men and apologize.
City officials said ordering restitution was an exercise of judicial authority that the HRC does not have. The City Council then moved to amend the HRC’s longstanding ordinance, erasing mentions of investigatory powers and eliminating the commission’s ability to review complaints against city officials and employees.
In their letter, Tsernoglou and Brixie said they have heard concerns from area residents about the changes to the HRC ordinance, and they hope the City Council will reconsider the new limits. The lawmakers urged city leaders to restore investigative abilities to the HRC, while acknowledging the body does not have judicial authority.
The letter says the restrictions placed on the HRC are especially concerning in the wake of an analysis conducted by Adrian College Professor Cedrick Heraux that found ELPD officers were much more likely to use severe force against Black people than white people in 2025, even when factors like resisting arrest are factored in.
“The HRC is a powerful tool that ensures the civil rights of all members of our community are not just protected but prioritized in East Lansing,” the letter says. “Both the HRC and the Council are most effective when working together as partners to keep our community inclusive and welcoming to all.”
In a phone call with ELi on Tuesday, Tsernoglou said some changes to the HRC ordinance may have been necessary, but that residents should have a place where they can take issues and have them looked into. She said the HRC and East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission can provide that outlet.
Tsernoglou said people in East Lansing are not confident they are being treated properly, and the city needs to take action to address this discomfort.
“It’s certainly up to City Council to take some action … to have the city function as it should,” Tsernoglou said. “I haven’t seen any actions being taken, and that’s quite frustrating.”
When the city stripped the HRC’s ability to review complaints against city employees, officials said complaints could instead be directed to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, or MDCR. Members of the HRC argued redirecting complaints to the MDCR forces a larger burden of proof on victims, presents a more complex system to navigate and offers fewer legal protections.
The outcome of a recent MDCR investigation shows the agency has limitations.
Lonnie Smith and Mason Woods, the men pepper-sprayed by the ELPD last year, also submitted a complaint to the MDCR. Nadia Sellers, Smith’s mother, shared an email with ELi from MDCR Executive Director John Johnson, where Johnson explains that the MDCR complaint into the ELPD is being closed because the ELPD refused to cooperate.
In his email, Johnson explains that because the ELPD refused to turn over reports when requested, the agency’s next step would be to ask the attorney general for assistance, as the MDCR alone cannot force entities to go to court for cooperation. However, the attorney general’s office would not pursue this action because the incident is being litigated in federal court.
“The fact that your son filed a complaint with us, or that the Department can offer an administrative remedy, does not change the outcome,” Johnson wrote. “This is an … example of what lawyers call ‘res judicata’, which basically means that you can’t litigate the same case twice when there has been a final judgment. In this instance, your son is seeking a judgment in court, which would prevent us from litigating the same matter in administrative court here in Michigan.”
In an email sent to ELi on Wednesday, East Lansing Interim City Manager Annette Irwin said that the police department did not provide information to the MDCR based on advice due to the pending litigation. She emphasized that the same incident presented to the MDCR is being litigated in federal court.
It feels like people in East Lansing have no recourse if they believe their civil rights were violated, HRC Chair Karen Hoene told ELi in a phone call Tuesday.
The HRC has completed investigations in the past that brought consequences, Hoene said. In 2023, the HRC found that landlord DTN violated a tenant’s civil rights when it refused to renew her lease because she used COVID-era emergency funds to help pay for rent. The action broke a city ordinance that bans income-based discrimination by landlords.
Following that investigation, Hoene said DTN had to return the individual’s security deposit and post a notice in its buildings that the company had been found in violation of the city’s civil rights ordinance.
“Once we made the finding, DTN sat down and settled with the [complainant],” Hoene said.
It was discouraging that the revisions to the HRC ordinance were made quickly without incorporating feedback from the commission, Hoene said. She doesn’t know if Tsernoglou and Brixie’s letter will bring change, but said she is hopeful it will lead to city leaders meeting with members of the HRC to revise the ordinance again and reinstate some powers.
Hoene said she would like to see a new version of the ordinance that allows the HRC to conduct investigations and gives the body a mechanism to move forward with investigations even if the entity accused refuses to cooperate.
“We have certainly not given up on getting them to sit down with us again and make more revisions,” Hoene said.