The Michigan Department of Civil Rights confirmed Friday that several complaints have been filed against the East Lansing Police Department stemming from an incident outside Dave's Hot Chicken during Michigan State University's Welcome Weekend.
According to MDCR, one certified complaint is proceeding to investigation and two complaints are currently being assessed. The complaints relate to an altercation that occurred outside Dave's Hot Chicken on Aug. 24.
Police arrested two men for the incident, but prosecutors later decided to drop all charges.
The complaints follow two federal lawsuits filed against the city of East Lansing, East Lansing Police Chief Jennifer Brown and ELPD Officer Anthony Lyon.
Lonnie Smith and Mason Woods filed the lawsuits against the defendants on Nov. 6. The lawsuit claims libel and slander after the city released details of Smith and Woods' arrests to the public. According to the plaintiffs, a statement from Brown did not accurately reflect what happened during the arrests.
Brown's statement said the two men were part of a fight outside Dave's Hot Chicken during Welcome Week, and that both Smith and Woods were charged with disturbing the public peace. Those charges were dropped by prosecutors.
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