Lansing Police investigating incident of officer punching handcuffed girl inside patrol car

EDITOR'S NOTE: Warning, videos in this story contain vulgar language.

LANSING - The Lansing Police Internal Affairs unit is investigating an incident Friday in which an officer punched a runaway 16-year-old girl who officers said was resisting arrest.

Social media video of the incident, which showed a teen girl resisting efforts to put her into a patrol car, circulated widely Friday afternoon. It shows the female officer punching the girl in the legs after she refused to put both of her legs in the car. 

Chief Mike Yankowski said the incident happened about 11 a.m. Friday in the 1100 block of Dakin Street. Officers went there to pick up the 16-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, who were wanted for escaping custody and probation violations, he said.

Both teens ran from officers but were caught, Yankowski said. At one point during the arrest, the girl got one of her hands free from cuffs the officers had used and was taken to the ground by officers and resecured in handcuffs.

The officers carried the girl to the patrol car and lifted her into it, he said. The girl then tried to prevent the officer from closing the door, he said.

Yankowski said the officer used a training technique that involves a blow to the thigh as a distraction in order to get a resisting suspect to comply.

The department's policy calls for officers to use only the amount of force that's "objectively reasonable," the chief said. He said the department will thoroughly investigate the incident to determine if the officer followed procedures. Most internal reviews take 90 days or less, he said.

"If it is found that this officer violated the Lansing Police Department protocol or policies or procedures, (she) will be held accountable," Yankowski said. 

Yankowski said the girl was not injured and was lodged at the Ingham County Youth Center. The female officer suffered minor injuries and is not currently on patrol duty, he said. Other officers also suffered minor injuries, he indicated.

The names of the officers and juveniles were not released. The female officer has just over a year with LPD, which is her first police position, Yankowski said. 

The video was published about 1 p.m. on social media. It  was provided to the State Journal by Mya Lynn. Lynn said she knows the girl who was put in the patrol car.

The video rapidly garnered attention online and Yankowski called a news conference at 4:15 p.m. to discuss the incident and answer questions.

Yankowski asked that the public "be patient and allow the process to play out." He said the department is downloading body camera video from officers at the scene and also requested that members of the public submit their video for review.

Asked what the proper procedure is when someone resists being loaded into a police car, Yankowski said a number of options are available to officers depending on the circumstances.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call internal affairs at 483-4804 or send an email to lpdinternatlaffairs@lansingmi.gov.

The Lansing chapter of Black Lives Matter released a statement shortly after 3 p.m.  Friday demanding that the city immediately remove the officers involved in the incident from active duty.

(Live updates from press conference are below. If it's not showing up for you, click HERE.)

"We demand a charge of assault be filed," a post to the group's Facebook page read. "We demand an update on the age and status of the victim IMMEDIATELY."

Ingham County Commissioner Thomas Morgan, a Democrat who represents parts of East Lansing, Lansing Township and Lansing's east side, called the actions of police, as shown in the video, "completely unacceptable."

"A kid failing to comply (that’s what kids do) doesn’t give you license to punch the hell out of them," Morgan wrote in a status posted to his official Facebook page at about 4 p.m.

Yankowski said the department reviews every instance when officers use force. Such reviews may result in changes to protocols or new training within the department, or discipline of individual officers that could range from counseling to termination.

In a written statement, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said he was aware of the incident and asked that anyone who saw the incident contact the internal affairs unit.

"Allegations and complaints against our police officers are taken very seriously and we have launched an investigation into this incident," Schor said. "We hold our police officers to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity."