East Lansing's police oversight commission challenged the department's use of mounted officers during MSU's welcome weekend, calling the tactic traumatic.

At the commission's Wednesday, Sept. 2 meeting, Vice Chair Kath Edsall and Chair Ernest Conerly pressed City Attorney Carlito Young on why the East Lansing Police Department deployed horses from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office to patrol downtown. More than 100 officers from seven agencies, drones and a helicopter also blanketed the area. The ELPD and its partners made 35 arrests, issued 134 citations and responded to 348 calls for service from Friday, Aug. 28 through Sunday, Aug. 30, according to East Lansing Info.

Those numbers marked a sharp increase from 2025, when police made 10 arrests and fielded 52 calls during the same weekend, WKAR reported.

Edsall, who canvassed the downtown area during welcome weekend as part of a community watch group, said she saw officers outside Harper's Bar use a horse to push students who had spilled onto the road back onto the curb.

"What are we going to do, firehoses and German shepherd dogs next? … It's horrifying," Edsall said at the meeting.

Conerly said horses have historically been used to "ram" through crowds at protests in the South, and that the deployment contradicted the Stanford model of de-escalation and crowd control he had previously recommended to Young at a policy subcommittee meeting. He also noted that welcome signage the commission had suggested posting downtown never appeared.

The signs were not ready in time. Young acknowledged the gap, saying "time was the issue." He said there were plans to integrate elements of the Stanford model but did not elaborate. He added that he is not aware of a time horses were used improperly in East Lansing in the past 20 years and that the horses were not deployed for protest purposes during welcome weekend.

Interim City Manager Annette Irwin said police horses have historically been used often in East Lansing. Edsall had asked whether the city's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department was consulted about the decision. No answer to that question appeared in the meeting record.

Body camera access stalls oversight work

The commission also raised an ongoing dispute over body camera footage. In 2024, the ELPD changed its policy so commissioners must now watch footage at City Hall or the police station during limited hours. Previously, commissioners could download and view recordings at home after signing privacy agreements.

Commissioner Kathy Swedlow said the commission and city were somewhat close to negotiating a new agreement before former City Manager Robert Belleman resigned in June, but progress stalled with leadership changes.

The restriction has hampered recent meetings. Commissioners have discussed incidents captured on camera when only some members had actually viewed the footage. Commissioners are volunteers, and reviewing multiple angles of body camera video can take hours.

Young said the matter will be discussed at a special East Lansing City Council meeting. He did not specify a date.

ELPD Chief Jennifer Brown said in a Sept. 1 release that the weekend's events were "consistent with our expectations." The department said officers will maintain an increased presence downtown through the fall, especially on game days, according to WKAR.

Funding for outside agency assistance came through public safety revenue sharing from the State of Michigan, with additional support from the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority, the Lansing State Journal reported.