Family Says Evidence Doesn’t Justify Fatal Police Shooting as ELPD is ‘Reevaluating’ Video Release
More than three weeks after fatally shooting 21-year-old Michigan State University student Isaiah Kirby, who was suspected of stabbing a local attorney, East Lansing police say they are “reevaluating” the release of footage related to the incident after reviewing video with Kirby’s family.
Following the April 15 incident, the ELPD issued a press release saying a video timeline of events would be released “in the coming weeks.” Thursday evening, the police department sent a one-paragraph press release stating the video release will be delayed after meeting with Kirby’s family and attorney.
“The East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) had planned to release a narrated timeline of the stabbing event that led to an officer-involved shooting on April 15, 2026,” ELPD’s release reads. “However, after meeting with the family of the decedent and their attorney this afternoon, and in consultation with the Michigan State Police who are the lead investigating agency, ELPD will be reevaluating and preparing what video footage may be released at a future date.”
Hours after the ELPD issued the release, Kirby’s family put out a statement through a spokesperson saying the family and their attorney viewed a heavily edited version of events that featured narration from Police Chief Jen Brown.
“What was presented was not transparency,” Kirby’s family’s release says. “It was a highly edited, selectively compiled, and deeply one-sided presentation that raises more questions than answers. Nothing shown today justified the level of deadly force used against Isaiah Kirby.
“The presentation did not provide the complete sequence of events, full officer interactions, uninterrupted body camera footage, or the full context necessary for the public to independently evaluate what occurred. Instead, the family was shown a curated narrative prepared by the very agency whose officers killed Isaiah.”
The release goes on to urge the ELPD to release unedited footage of the incident and say that “critical facts” like the number of shots fired are not addressed by the footage. A previous release from Kirby’s family said his mother counted 17 bullet holes in his body.
Kirby’s family is asking residents who have information, video or audio related to the incident to call a tip line they set up, 1-844-9ISAIAH.
At a press conference the day of the incident, Brown said the ELPD officers were responding to a call about theft from a business near the Lake Lansing Road and Abbot Road intersection, when they received a second call reporting a person had been stabbed multiple times.
When police arrived at the scene they found a suspect with blood on him holding a knife. Police shot Kirby after he ran at officers and ignored commands to drop his weapon, Brown said at the press conference.
Some residents spoke at a City Council meeting the week after the incident, asking for transparency around the police shooting and calling for all available footage to be released.