Many community members and the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission (ELIPOC) have accused the ELPD of exercising excessive force in this circumstance (and others) in which the officer deployed pepper spray on both individuals – Lonnie Smith and Mason Woods – without sufficient reasoning or warning.

Police Chief Jen Brown has defended the actions of the officer since the situation has gained traction among the public eye. Brown had also made comments explaining the uptick of police activity which occurred over Welcome Weekend that some, including the commission, have called disparaging.

Even with an apology that Brown issued following the blowback that some, including councilmember Dana Watson called lacking, the pressure still remains on ELPD and the city of East Lansing, to do something about this over-policing.

‘Everyone got sprayed’

At around 1:39 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24, ELPD officers responded to what was presumed to be a physical altercation between Smith and Woods outside of Dave’s Hot Chicken. 

Accusations of a physical altercation have since been refuted after it was revealed that Woods and Smith are friends, according to surveillance footage from Dave’s Hot Chicken. Smith had been attempting to deescalate an altercation between Woods and another unnamed individual before ELPD officers jumped in, which then resulted in Woods and Smith being pepper sprayed and taken to East Lansing Jail.

Smith was charged with disturbing the public peace by engaging in a fight and issued a citation for misdemeanor disorderly fighting. Woods received the same charge and citation as well as an additional charge and misdemeanor for resisting arrest.

In a press release, ELPD said it had “issued multiple loud verbal commands” in an attempt to “deescalate” the supposed fight between Woods and Smith. An officer, later identified as Andrew Lyon, then used pepper spray to “halt further fighting.”

Yet, in body-worn camera footage from the same press release, Lyon takes out the pepper spray within six seconds of the altercation occurring between Woods and Smith. Pepper spray was then deployed an additional five seconds later, 11 seconds after Lyon became aware of the altercation. 

Audio could not be retrieved from the first two minutes of any of the footage. Brown previously told The State News that body-worn cameras have the ability to retrieve the footage of up to two minutes before the camera has been turned on, but lacks the ability to retrieve audio. In all cases, cameras were turned on after the pepper spray had been used. 

In a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Policy Manual, a policy titled “USE OF CHEMICAL AGENTS AND SELF DEFENSE TACTICS”  states that self-defense sprays should not be used “any closer to the subject than six feet.”

A separate recording of surveillance footage from the outside of Dave’s Hot Chicken displays another angle in which Lyons sprays Smith and Woods significantly closer than the required six feet as listed in the policy.

According to the body-worn camera footage, while arresting Smith, Lyon said, “You were told three times. You didn’t stop, none of you guys stopped, so everyone got sprayed.”

The body-worn camera footage also reveals that Brown was present at the time of the pepper-spraying incident.  

The press release said that both Woods and Smith received medical attention from ELPD medics while in jail. ELPD policy dictates that officers must respond to requests for medical attention or complaints of continued injury when pepper spray has been used.

Woods asked an officer to wipe his eyes due to continued pain before entering the police car, the request was denied, according to the footage. A few minutes later, Woods became frustrated, complaining that he “can’t see sh—” and that it’s “burning.”

The officer made no move to provide medical care to Woods until they reached the jailhouse.

Woods was then taken from jail to a hospital for alcohol incapacitation while Smith remained until fully sober. However, when Smith was arrested, he was “sober and he blew a 0.0 at the jailhouse,” ELIPOC Vice Chair Kath Edsall said at a city council meeting Tuesday. 

Edsall also alleged that Brown had penned the press release without consulting the city manager. Brown released the names of Woods and Smith, violating a policy that stops press releases from including the names of detainees unless a serious crime has been committed out of concern for reputational harm. 

Community calls for Brown to resign after racist remarks

Outrage over the treatment of Black citizens by ELPD seemingly imploded after Brown sat down in early October for an interview with WLNS where she discussed the excessive force allegations during Welcome Weekend. The interview followed the release of a use of force report that revealed that, despite only 12% of East Lansing residents identifying as Black, 88% of people subjected to some kind of use of force by ELPD were Black during July 2025.

“We have a very transient population, and over the last month, starting with Welcome Weekend, we have had a disproportionate number of minorities come into the community and commit crimes, and as police officers we are simply responding to those crimes,” Brown said.

Brown issued an apology days later, saying she had “unintentionally” offended people and that the focus of ELPD is to protect both residents and non-residents. In her statement, she pledged to “provide transparency on our policing efforts and earn the trust of those we serve.”

Regardless, community members and ELIPOC members alike called for Brown’s resignation. 

“We don't want officers taking on her perception of Black people or minorities coming into East Lansing to commit a crime," East Lansing resident James McCurtis said at a council meeting Tuesday. “She has lost the trust of the community with that type of perspective.”

Members of city council briefly acknowledged the incident at a regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 7. 

ELIPOC Chair Ernest Conerly criticized city council’s silence over the litany of accusations against Brown, excusing Watson. “This silence is loud, the excuses are tiring and the harm is real,” Conerly said. “It's time for accountability and real change.” 

Councilmember Mark Meadows rebutted against Conerly’s accusation of silence, saying that the council remains “limited” when it comes to personnel but has been “monitoring” the situation. 

The city manager, Rob Belleman, who manages the police department, voiced hesitation over terminating Brown’s position. It would be costly to redo the hiring process, Belleman said, although members of the oversight commission have claimed that Brown sidestepped certain steps of the hiring process after placing third out of the four candidates following a community panel. 

Belleman also said that the constant leadership changes within ELPD may be part of the reason why the public, ELIPOC, and council have yet to see the desired changes in policing. 

The problems in East Lansing are part of a greater American dilemma, Mayor George Brookover said, that houses the “myriad obstacles” that prevent the full participation of people of color in American society

Brookover called for both Belleman and the city attorney to conduct a comprehensive report of police and personnel policies with recommendations on outside resources to ensure effective and just law enforcement.

‘They're out of control’

Thursday night, the Police Oversight Commission meeting, nearly unanimously, reached the conclusion that Brown must resign from office.

During public comment several individuals called for the resignation of Brown and questioned why the city was continuing to press charges against Smith and Woods. One doubted  the validity of the commission itself, asking what they have done for the safety of East Lansing. 

Smith’s mother, Nadia Sellers, said the actions by the ELPD have been a deliberate attempt to tie her son to “an act of violence that he had no part in.” She told the commission that her son’s jury selection date is on November 10.

“But taking this case to trial would not serve justice,” Sellers said. “It would only prolong harm and expose the truth that these charges should never have existed.”

Chair for the Commission, Ernest Conerly acknowledged the strained relationship they have with ELPD. In the four years since the commission has run, Conerly said they have passed many motions recommending policies, strategies or improvements to the ELPD.

“And we're here today because they have failed to take those recommendations, not because we haven't tried,” he said.

Several other commission members agreed with this sentiment, even acknowledging the proposed ordinance that seeks to strip them of several powers included in their already limited reach. Commissioner Robin Etchison said they have tried repeatedly to help ELPD reform itself.

“They've gone too far,” Etchison said. “They're out of control. They lack accountability, and that's what we're here for.”

As such, they brought to the floor a motion to call upon the resignation of Brown due to several “policy violations, acts and comments that undermine the desire of this community to work towards racial reconciliation and create a police department that reflects that desire.”

One commissioner, Michael McDaniel, took issue with this call for resignation. He said that no one is irredeemable, and that she is under a significant amount of pressure since taking on her role as Police Chief.

“I think that's a lot of weight, and she's still struggling to find her position there,” McDaniel said. “I will absolutely agree at the least ignorant and at the most morally reprehensible and should never have been said.”

Conerly countered McDaniel’s argument, saying that even if he sets aside her lack of experience as chief, he still cannot excuse her dishonestly regarding the situation. 

“She sat at this table and doubled down and told us to our face that they were causing ruckus and disruption downtown,” he said. “We have a leader right now who lies every day, causing division — she lied.”

Other commissioners expressed similar sentiments to Conerly while also citing policy violations and the improper deployment of pepper spray on Smith and Woods.

The motion passed with all in favor except McDaniel, who voted against.

The commission also passed one more motion calling upon the city prosecutor to drop all charges against Smith and Woods.

Brown was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.