Students Scrutinize MSU Police Alert Policy After Halloween Shootings

Michigan State University police sent an off-campus safety alert for couch burnings on Saturday following criticism over missing emergency notifications during earlier Halloween shootings.

Michigan State University Deputy Chief of Police Chris Rozman said that the advisory regarding Saturday’s off-campus couch burnings stemmed from community responses collected after the off-campus Halloween shootings. “That was actually our first attempt to use the current mechanisms that we have in place to further alert our community or send a notification that something’s happening,” Rozman said, according to reporting by The State News.

Rozman said that the couch-burning alert was not strictly required under the Clery Act — a federal mandate obligating colleges to inform students and staff about specific campus offenses and urgent safety hazards — because the events took place outside university grounds.

Following the Michigan State football victory over the University of Michigan on Saturday, large crowds of students filled East Lansing streets to ignite celebratory bonfires using couches. At 12:26 a.m., the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety issued a community awareness notification advising individuals to steer clear of the impacted zones.

Why no alert? Students voice concerns about lack of communication surrounding Halloween shootings — News 10 Lansing

“The City of East Lansing Police and Fire Departments are dealing with numerous small fires in areas off campus near and around downtown, and crowds are gathering in the streets. Please avoid the area and follow the directions of police officers, and BEHAVE RESPONSIBLY,” the alert said.

Criticism arose over the notification because students remained uninformed about a pair of consecutive Halloween night shootings occurring a week earlier, which happened outside university limits. The two shootings occurred in the overnight hours between Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, leaving five individuals injured. MSU Spokesperson Emily Guerrant informed The State News that neither the victims nor the suspects are enrolled at Michigan State University.

East Lansing, Michigan State Police share updates on Halloween night shootings — News 10 Lansing

In the aftermath of the gunfire, public backlash on social media alongside student interviews conducted by The State News raised questions as to why MSU police and ELPD failed to issue an emergency broadcast. The first shooting took place at 12:26 a.m. near the intersection of M.A.C. Avenue and Linden Street.

MSU Police Chief Mike Yankowski reported that MSU officers were called in to provide support for a second incident on Stoddard Avenue and Frye Avenue at 1:40 a.m. ELPD has given “no indication” that the “two potential incidents were linked,” Yankowski said. No individuals are in custody in relation to either of the Halloween shootings.

Yankowski said the department did not send out an emergency alert because there was “no immediate threat to campus” during the two off-campus Halloween shootings. “It’s a little more challenging when you’re not the agency responding to that event,” Yankowski said. “We might have limited information and the last thing we want to do is send out something that might be in conflict with what’s really happening out there.”

Five people injured in two separate Halloween night shootings near MSU campus — News 10 Lansing

Yankowski said that if ELPD had transmitted an emergency bulletin concerning either shooting, MSU law enforcement would have rebroadcast the details across their social media channels. He explained that the campus alert mechanism would have been triggered had the events occurred along northbound Grand River Avenue—located merely three blocks away from one of the shooting sites—though the university’s jurisdiction under Clery guidelines stops short of that line.

Kevin Guskiewicz stated in a Nov. 1 communication that the institution is currently evaluating its handling of the shootings amid mounting pressure concerning the warning procedures. “We are willing to continue the sit-down, have dialogue, discussions, and review our current protocols and policies to see how we can strengthen those communication components of it,” Yankowski said.

To bridge communication divides between MSU, ELPD, and other neighboring agencies, the police chief proposed establishing a coordinated warning protocol “so that we can better amplify those messages to MSU students that might be living off campus.”

Rozman said that “as soon as the end of the week,” there would be “enhancements” made to their alert process.