EAST LANSING, Mich. – As Michigan State University prepares to host tens of thousands of fans for its annual rivalry game against the University of Michigan, controversy over police conduct in East Lansing has moved from the sidelines to center stage.
Video released in the wake of MSU Welcome Week shows multiple East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) encounters in which officers used pepper spray and a taser during arrests of Black men.
Those videos, combined with reported remarks from ELPD Chief Jen Brown — who reportedly told a local news outlet, “During welcome weekend we had a disproportionate number of minorities come into the community and commit crimes” — have prompted accusations of racial bias and calls for accountability…