East Lansing Human Rights Commission Calls for Police Chief Jen Brown to Resign or be Removed

The East Lansing Human Rights Commission passed resolutions calling for the resignation or removal of Police Chief Jen Brown and an investigation into her recent actions at its meeting last night. 

Last week, the city’s police oversight commission called for Brown to be removed from her post.

At the Oct. 6 HRC meeting, a subcommittee was formed to meet with City Manager Robert Belleman to discuss recent decisions Brown made and how it impacts the city. 

The subcommittee of four commissioners met with Belleman on Oct. 9, two days after the City Council met and Belleman called a comment Brown made in a news interview “offensive and racist.” 

Also on Oct. 7, new footage emerged that commissioners say proves a police press release about an incident downtown where officers pepper sprayed and arrested two men was misleading. Commissioners said Belleman claimed to have not seen the footage before the Oct. 9 meeting.

“I was very disturbed he had not seen any of the police camera footage until commissioner [Joshua] Hewitt showed him on his cell phone,” Kasen said. 

“My interpretation of the meeting [with Belleman] was I was either being gaslit or I was dealing with someone who truly was not competent…We couldn’t get answers on basic questions,” Kasen continued. 

On Aug. 24, police pepper sprayed and arrested two young men outside of Dave’s Hot Chicken in downtown East Lansing. About a month later, ELPD put out a press release that named the two young men, listed misdemeanors they were charged with and included four clips of body camera footage.

More than 10 days after the Sept. 26 press release, the attorney for the two men released a new video from the entrance of Dave’s Hot Chicken that community members and members of some city commissions have said shows the altercation was relatively mild–there was some pushing and shouting–and one of the men pepper sprayed, arrested and named in the release was acting as a peacekeeper. 

On Friday, the attorney representing the men said the charges against them have been dropped.

Hewitt said Belleman left him a voicemail stating police had access to the Dave’s Hot Chicken video on Sept. 2, weeks before the press release was posted. 

Commissioner Matthew Boughton said Belleman told the HRC subcommittee he opposes removing Brown as police chief. “Too much change at the top of the department would be a hindrance to change,” Boughton said the group was told. 

“I would like to point out that no change will happen if the person at the top doesn’t want it to, which seems to be the case,” Boughton said. 

Along with the police chief’s actions, commissioners were concerned by how officers acted when they pepper sprayed the men and how they treated them after the incident. 

“The verbal abuse is one of the most disgusting displays of police misconduct that I think I’ve ever seen and it’s incredibly disturbing that this is our local police department,” Vice Chair Karen Hoene said. 

“[One of the men arrested] said numerous times his eyes were burning and asked to wipe his eyes and [the officer] couldn’t even do that simple thing for him. ELPD use of force policy says that if someone asks for medical attention, it needs to be given,” Hoene continued. 

Commissioner Tina Farhat was struck by the explicit language used by an officer when arresting one of the young men. The interaction was captured by one of the body camera videos released by police.

“I was genuinely concerned about that part,” Farhat said. “It almost seemed like as a police officer she was expecting more of the person she had apprehended than herself, and that’s problematic on many levels. No one has more training in that interaction than a police officer would have.” 

Hoene added that besides the use of explicit language, the officer “screamed viciously.” 

“It’s horrendous to me, I’m incensed by the way she treated that young man,” Hoene said.

The subcommittee decided on two different approaches for the HRC to consider and take action on. 

The first is to send a letter to Belleman requesting an impartial investigation into Brown’s actions surrounding the Dave’s Hot Chicken incident, including her authorship, approval, and the accuracy of the press release; the decision making process regarding the selection  of camera footage released; violations of the fair and unbiased ELPD policy, and an investigation into officers involved in the Aug. 24 incident.

The second is an official statement from the HRC calling for Brown to resign or be removed from her position. 

Both motions were passed unanimously.