LANSING, MI – This correspondence is to serve as the Lansing Branch NAACP concern regarding a Use of Force and arrest incident on Tuesday evening November 10, 2020 on Baker Street in Lansing. Media footage clearly showed a number of Lansing Police Officers atop of a 25-year-old African-American man. While atop of the suspect, officers restrained him while they simultaneously delivered strikes to his body.
“The video footage of the incident clearly demonstrated that excessive force was used,” said Dale Copedge, President of the NAACP Lansing Branch. “The Lansing Branch NAACP emphatically denounces the use of excessive force practices. It is extremely troubling that in the wake of the Anthony Hulon, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake tragedies, black and brown communities continue to endure such egregious behavior by those who are sworn to protect and serve us.”
The Lansing Branch NAACP acknowledges the Lansing Police Department protocol investigation of this incident. However, the Lansing Branch NAACP views this type of behavior as not only as a civil rights violation but also human rights violation. Therefore, we are asking the Lansing Police Department to engage in a dialogue regarding the creation and implementation of a robust and comprehensive training on crisis intervention and de-escalation training within its core training of officers. Additionally, we ask that appropriate discipline up to termination be provided to all officers that violate the Lansing Police Department Use of Force policies.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation.
