Among people subjected to force by East Lansing police in 2025, Black people faced higher odds of more severe force than white people, an independent analysis found.

The odds were 173% higher for Black people and 265% higher for people categorized as neither Black nor white, after accounting for resistance and other factors. The East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission (ELIPOC) voted at its Wednesday, Oct. 7, meeting to formally accept the report.

The analysis, authored by Adrian College sociology and criminal justice professor Cedrick G. Heraux, examined the East Lansing Police Department's (ELPD) 2025 use-of-force data. The racial disparity persisted even when accounting for whether a person resisted arrest, WLNS reported.

The final report does not compare these encounters with those where no force was used. Its severity categories range from hands-on techniques to less-lethal weapons and the display or use of firearms.

ELPD officers used force during 198 incidents against 274 people in 2025, up from 131 incidents involving 171 people in 2024. That marks a 51% jump in incidents and a 60% increase in the number of people subjected to force. About 54% of those subjected to force were Black and 31% were white.

More than 40% of the people officers used force against were not arrested at the scene and no charges were sought against them, according to East Lansing Info's reporting on the draft analysis.

White officers used higher levels of force than Black officers when encountering similar subjects, the report also found. However, it cautioned that the available data made it difficult to determine how differences in encounter circumstances affected that comparison. Officers were much more likely to use severe force when they believed a person was armed.

ELIPOC Vice Chair Kath Edsall said the commission's ability to review the data is itself a milestone. The 2025 report is only the second time in the commission's five-year history that it has received clean data, meaning each use of force is linked to the specific officer and the specific person involved.

"One of the things that we used to get here in this community for a very long time was weekly case and arrest reports, and those are now gone," Edsall said in an Oct. 13 WLNS report. "There is no trend data in that area."

Edsall also raised the lack of a crowd management policy for downtown East Lansing, saying officers stand in one spot and run to problems rather than spreading out for community policing.

Interim City Manager Annette Irwin issued a written statement on Friday, Oct. 9, calling the report a limited view of policing that does not assess the full scope of police interactions. Irwin said the city takes every finding seriously and is committed to action planning based on the report.

Edsall pushed back on that framing. She said the comment Irwin referenced actually came from a commissioner who noted there was no comparison data available for encounters where force was not used.

Heraux identified a staffing concern: ELPD has many new officers and veteran officers but few officers with two to five years of experience at the department. That gap can lead to less experienced officers training new recruits.

According to East Lansing Info's account of his presentation, Heraux urged improvements in data collection, an examination of the rise in hands-on force and retention of policy language about preserving human life.

That last point became a flashpoint during the policy revision process. Edsall said Police Chief Jennifer Brown initially removed sanctity-of-life language from the use-of-force policy. After three meetings with the commission, the language was restored.

East Lansing City Council unanimously approved the revised de-escalation and use-of-force policies on Tuesday, Oct. 6, one day before the ELIPOC vote, according to The State News.

In the Oct. 13 WLNS report, Edsall said she has seen only performative behaviors from the city on police reform and expressed doubt that changes would come under the current police chief's leadership.

Residents can contact the commission through the city of East Lansing's website.