EAST LANSING, MI — In the early morning hours of Sunday, September 13, 2026 an officer with the East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) was on foot patrol in Downtown East Lansing when he was assaulted with bear spray by a passenger in a passing vehicle.
Other ELPD officers who were in a vehicle nearby observed the assault. The officers had previously been alerted to reports of a similar-looking vehicle using a chemical spray against other people in the Downtown area. The officers observed the suspect vehicle, caught up to it and initiated a felony stop.
The officers conducted a felony stop due to the nature of the crime committed. Using bear spray to attack someone is a criminal offense in the State of Michigan. Upon searching the vehicle, officers found a stun gun, several canisters of pepper spray and a half-empty canister of bear and mountain lion spray believed to have been used in the attack on the police officer.
The three people in the vehicle were all under the age of 18. They were taken into custody while a parent or guardian was contacted. The suspect who is believed to have assaulted the officer was transferred to a youth detention center.
The City of East Lansing has a curfew ordinance that decrees no person under 18 years of age shall be upon or in any public street, highway, alley, park, plaza, public or private parking facility, or vacant lot or other public place between midnight and 6 a.m., and no minor under the age of 12 should be in any of those places between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. ELPD wants to be sure the public is aware of the City’s curfew, and that they know the curfew is enforced.
