ELPD released a statement on Aug. 3 in response to the incident.

“This morning the City of East Lansing was made aware of a video circulating on social media of an arrest that occurred over the weekend in downtown East Lansing. The video that is circulating does not capture the entire incident,” the press release read.

“The East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) has opened an internal investigation into this incident and will be reviewing body-worn camera footage and any other material related to the incident,” the release continued.

The release also explained that one officer has been placed on paid administrative leave as part of the ongoing investigation, and that as soon as it has been completed, ELPD will work with the City Attorney to determine what can be released to the public.

This isn't the first time an ELPD use-of-force incident has stirred doubts within the community about how police handle issues involving minorities.

This April, Michigan State University senior Isaiah Kirby was killed in an officer-involved shooting. Last August, during MSU Welcome Week, Lonnie Smith and Mason Woods were pepper-sprayed by police and unlawfully named in an ELPD press release following the incident.

Community members and the NAACP are renewing calls for Chief Brown to resign or be removed from her position at ELPD after viewing the video of the recent incident.

The NAACP released a statement on Aug. 3 in response to the incident, calling for the City to conduct a full review of use-of-force practices within ELPD, transparency from ELPD and the City, that Brown be terminated and that all body-worn camera footage from the incident be immediately released.

“Once again, this disturbing video shows the East Lansing Police Department's use of excessive force on another Black person, this time a Black woman,” James McCurtis Jr., president of the NAACP Lansing Branch, said in the release. “When will it end? This is an outrage.”

“The culture at East Lansing Police is mired in a troubling pattern of racism. This culture starts with the department's leadership — Police Chief Jennifer Brown,” McCurtis continued. “Brown needs to resign, or Interim City Manager Annette Irwin needs to fire her — period. Anything less is a message that Black and Brown people are not welcome in East Lansing.”

Collins' mother, Shannon, spoke out about the incident at the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission (ELIPOC) meeting on Aug. 5, although commission members were unable to comment due to the ongoing investigation and their agreement with ELPD following changes to their ordinance in Oct. 2025.

She said that their family has not received any additional information about the incident from ELPD beyond what is already known to the public, including any documentation about what happened while Collins was in police custody, or the reason for the initial call and her arrest.

“We know she was later transported from the jail to the hospital for a CT scan, because of a possible head injury, we don’t know. We need the truth. We need to know what happened,” Shannon said at the meeting.

Shannon was joined by Nadia Sellers, the mother of Lonnie Smith, who was involved in the pepper spray incident downtown during MSU Welcome Week in Aug. 2025. Sellers spoke directly to Chief Brown at the meeting and called for a new Police Chief and more de-escalation training for ELPD officers.

“I want you to know that every time someone is harmed unfairly, unjustifiably, by one of your officers, it traumatizes my son over and over and over again,” Sellers said. “And he wants to move on. It’ll be (one year) this month on the 24th, when my son (Lonnie Smith) and my nephew Mason (Woods) (were) unjustifiably arrested.”

ELIPOC has been reviewing ELPD's new use-of-force policy, and cited concerns at their Aug. 5 meeting about what the drafted updated policy omits, including references to the sanctity of human life and the importance of preserving it.

In addition, the commission has cited concerns about ELPD's de-escalation policy. According to ELIPOC's Aug. 17 meeting agenda, in the revised ELPD policy, the definition and examples of de-escalation have been changed to include less-lethal tools or weapons, however the commission argues that de-escalation intends to avoid all types of use-of-force, including less lethal weapons.

Members of the East Lansing Human Rights Commission (HRC), however, were able to comment on the incident at their Aug. 10 meeting.

Commission Chair Karen Hoene said that after being involved with the commission for the past few years, many incidents start with the downtown bars, which she feels City leadership isn’t taking proper action on.

“I feel like the issue that is not being talked about, but we've mentioned it, and so many people mentioned it, is the underage drinking and the over-serving at the downtown businesses. We would not be in this situation,” Hoene said. “I hope that this young woman gets justice from how the police treated her and I hope that our police department recognizes the disproportionate way that they police individuals of color.”

She added that this is an example of an incident that the HRC could investigate before the June 16 amendments to their ordinance. Individuals may still file complaints; however, the commission’s investigative capabilities have been significantly hindered.

Collins has been released and was not charged with anything by ELPD, Shannon said at the meeting.