Police Shooting in Lansing Township Raising Questions

While two Lansing Township police officers remain on paid administrative leave, the investigation continues into what led to shots being fired Monday afternoon that left one man dead.

The incident occurred around 1:30 in the afternoon in the 2600 block of West Kalamazoo.  Police say there were three people in the vehicle when it was stopped, but have not given details on why the car was pulled over in the first place.

The Lansing State Journal is reporting witness accounts of the shooting.  Tyrell Washington was driving the vehicle when it was stopped.  He claims his friend was shot simply trying to alert officers that he had a gun on him.  He said he had his hands raised with the weapon in his hand.  "Like, 'I got a gun on me.'  He was showing them," Washington told the newspaper.

Washington also claims that the officers yellled twice for the victim to drop the gun before he head shots fired.

"They shot right through the back window.  They didn't ask no questions, nothing, just shot."

The newspaper is also reporting some of the radio traffic that occurred shortly before and after the shooting.

The initial contact with dispatchers: "holding (them) at gunpoint, right now."

The next message came in after the shooting:  "Got two prone, got a third one. he's unconscious. Going to need an ambulance."

The shooting comes at a time when police shootings have been the focus of claims of police brutality.  Lansing Township officials aren't releasing information on the identities of those affected in this latest incident, only to say the man killed was "non African American."

They promise more details as the investigation by the Michigan State Police moves forward.

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