A retired Michigan State Police detective offered his expert analysis on body camera footage released Friday showing the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Michigan State University student Isaiah Kirby.
Lewis Langham spent 25 years with the Michigan State Police before retiring as a detective lieutenant. He spoke with News 10 about the video released by the East Lansing Police Department that shows officers responding to a stabbing that left local attorney Douglas Mielock critically injured.
On April 15 officers were dispatched to a theft and stabbing outside a business on Lake Lansing Road near Abbot Road. Body camera footage shows Kirby running at officers with a knife.
Officers shouted at him to drop the knife but as Kirby kept running officers opened fire. Kirby died at the scene. The police department released 11 videos including body cam dash cam and witness footage from the incident.
Police Chief Jennifer Brown released a narrated version of the footage with a statement about transparency and accountability.
"We believe the public has a right to view this footage and we are releasing it in the interest of openness and accountability," Brown said.
Langham said officers are trained to do everything they can to get a suspect to cooperate before turning to lethal force. Officers should only use their firearms or deadly weapons when it is absolutely necessary, he said.
"He's still considered a threat to the officers as well as any general public. Because of the prior stabbing that's definitely a factor that they were thinking about," Langham said.
The video released Friday appears to show three separate sets of shots. Following the first set of shots that sent Kirby to the ground officers continued to urge Kirby to drop the knife.
When he didn't officers fired more shots two separate times before removing the knife from his hands.
Langham said at this point in the video officers had to decide if Kirby was still a threat to them and the public after he had been on the ground.
"He was told to put his hands behind his back and to drop the knife. Well I don't know if he's capable of dropping the knife or even understanding what they are saying or if he's capable of putting his hands behind his back," Langham said.
During the incident emergency responders provided aid to both Kirby and attorney Douglas Mielock who was critically injured in the stabbing. He has since been released from the hospital.
Since the release of the video the attorney for the Kirby family issued a statement that said in part that East Lansing police officers did not use non lethal options and immediately fired more than 20 rounds.
The videos also show officers continuing to shoot after Isaiah had fallen to the ground and appeared to have been dead from the initial gunshot wounds.
Earlier in the day News 10 spoke with East Lansing Mayor Erik Altmann about the release of the video.
"I just want to note for the community that it could be a while before we know everything there is to know and it's important I think for all of us me included to let this process run its course," Altmann said.
The police department released 11 videos including body cam dash cam and witness footage from the incident. That included a narrated version by Police Chief Jennifer Brown.
The video released Friday appears to show three separate sets of shots. Following the first set of shots that sent Kirby to the ground officers continued to urge Kirby to drop the knife.
When he didn't officers fired more shots two separate times before removing the knife from his hands.
Langham said at this point in the video officers had to decide if Kirby was still a threat to them and the public after he had been on the ground.
"He was told to put his hands behind his back and to drop the knife. Well I don't know if he's capable of dropping the knife or even understanding what they are saying or if he's capable of putting his hands behind his back," Langham said.