Still, at a press conference on May 12, the family expressed their continued frustration with police. 

At the press conference, Isaiah’s mother repeatedly called for the immediate release of the raw footage evidence.

“We've asked for Michigan State Police and the East Lansing Police Department for truth and transparency,” said Karyn Kirby.

The fatal officer-involved shooting occurred near the intersection of Abbot and Lake Lansing roads on April 15.

The incident occurred after the stabbing of Douglas Mielock, 63. At the scene, Kirby ran towards police, who said he did not follow orders to drop the knife in his hand.

On May 7, the Kirby family sat down with their attorney, Teresa Caine Bingman, and the NAACP Lansing branch president, James McCurtis, to watch footage police edited with narration. 

The family released a statement later that day demanding the release of the “complete, raw and unedited video evidence” from ELPD.

At the press conference on Tuesday, the attorney described the footage shown by ELPD. 

"We certainly saw a stabbing victim, but this stabbing that they're accusing Isaiah of, we did not see him stabbing anyone. We did not even see a weapon in the hand of the person who was purported to be Isaiah,” Bingman said. “The face was blacked out. He was running down the street with his hands up, a telephone in one hand, and a cup and some object in another hand." 

In a press release on May 7, ELPD explained that they had planned on releasing a narrated timeline of the incident, but that they would be re-evaluating and preparing what footage should be shared with the public after meeting with the Kirby family, as well as the Michigan State Police (MSP), who are investigating the incident.

In another press release on May 12, East Lansing City Manager Robert Belleman said that, after further consultation between ELPD and MSP, the original video is "being expanded to include additional footage of the incident."

The press release also said ELPD does not have any footage of the stabbing from local businesses or other responding agencies.

Member of the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission (ELIPOC), Robin Etchison, said that the ELIPOC hasn’t had full investigative power for incidents since the City of East Lansing changed its police oversight ordinance in Oct. 2025.

Established in 2021, the ELIPOC was created to increase accountability of ELPD and strengthen conditions leading to the East Lansing community’s trust in it, according to the city’s website.

Before the amendments to Ordinance No. 1533 were enacted in October, the ELIPOC would have been granted access to fully unredacted body-worn camera footage upon request, allowing the commission to conduct its investigation of the incident simultaneously with the police’s.

Amendments were made to the ordinance due to concerns that their recommendations to police bordered on attempting to influence discipline, Etchison said. 

“We were never commissioned to get into discipline. Strictly transparency and accountability,” he said.

Now, Etchison said ELPD refuses to talk to the commission, and that evidence would likely be shared after the police conclude their investigation.

Etchison said that the ELIPOC puts in requests for case evidence through a system set up between the city and the commission, and that they would continue to request evidence about the Kirby case from police. 

“They handcuffed us until after they do what they do. They won't release any information to us. Nothing. Zero,” Etchison said. “They say they'll give us access later, but we don't really know what they will give us access to because they've not been transparent and they have not been forthcoming in about a year or so.”

NAACP Lansing branch president McCurtis reiterated at the May 12 press conference that “East Lansing needs to clean house,” and that they would continue to advocate and fight for the resignation of not only the police chief, but also for the city council to hold ELPD accountable.

A day before the shooting, on April 14, the NAACP renewed its call for police chief Jennifer Brown to step down. 

“I said that day to the [East Lansing City] council: ‘So, what is it going to take, a George Floyd moment in East Lansing, for you to replace the chief?’” McCurtis said.