Statement from Attorney Teresa A. Caine Bingman, Attorney for the Family of Isaiah Kirby
- The Chronicle News
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
Today, the family of Isaiah Kirby viewed what the East Lansing Police Department characterized as video evidence related to the fatal shooting of Isaiah Kirby. What was presented was not transparency. It was a highly edited, selectively compiled, and deeply one-sided presentation that raises more questions than answers. Nothing shown today justified the level of deadly force used against Isaiah Kirby.
The presentation did not provide the complete sequence of events, full officer interactions, uninterrupted body camera footage, or the full context necessary for the public to independently evaluate what occurred. Instead, the family was shown a curated narrative prepared by the very agency whose officers killed Isaiah.
The family and the public have repeatedly demanded the release of the complete, raw, and unedited video evidence. To date, East Lansing Police Department and Michigan State Police have refused to provide that transparency.
When someone is killed by police, the truth cannot be filtered through edited clips, selective camera angles, or a narrative shaped after the fact. The video presented to the family was narrated by the East Lansing Police Chief in a manner that appeared designed to reinforce the narrative advanced by ELPD during their press conference immediately following the April 15th shooting.
Isaiah Kirby was a 21-year-old Michigan State University senior with a bright future ahead of him. He was weeks away from graduation and looked forward to participating in an interview for his dream job. He was a son, a scholar, and a young Black man whose life mattered.
The legal standard in this case is not whether allegations were made against Isaiah. The question is whether deadly force was objectively reasonable and legally justified at the precise moment it was used. Nothing presented today answered that question.
What remains deeply troubling is the extraordinary level of force used, including the number of shots fired and the fact that Isaiah sustained multiple gunshot wounds throughout his body, including wounds to his back. These are critical facts that were neither clearly depicted nor meaningfully addressed in the video presentation. These circumstances demand independent scrutiny and full transparency.
The family deserves the truth. The public deserves transparency. And this community deserves confidence that investigations involving police officers’ use of deadly force are conducted fairly, objectively, and without efforts to shape public narrative through selective presentation of evidence.
Our office will continue pursuing all available legal avenues to obtain the complete, unedited evidence and to ensure full accountability. As our investigation continues, we are asking for the community’s help. Anyone with information, video, or audio related to the events of April 15, 2026 in East Lansing is urged to come forward. Please contact the Justice for Isaiah Kirby tip line at 1-844-9ISAIAH (1-844-947-2424). Even the smallest detail may be critical.
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