EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) says it’s all ears and  wants to hear from parents and community members after what they described as “a few recent, challenging incidents at East Lansing High School as well as some other public safety concerns raised by our community.”

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ELPD announced on Wednesday that it will host a “Listening Session” on Friday, January 27 from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Banquet Hall at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center.

On Tuesday, administrators at East Lansing High School put the school in a shelter-in-place lockdown after a report of a weapon on campus. School administrators and the East Lansing Police Department said an investigation did not show evidence of a credible weapons threat.

The embattled ELPD has also endured public criticism this week after posting about concerns in the community regarding a person wearing a plastic mask walking around downtown with a hammer and scissors. They said officers met with individual and a social worker, but have not arrested him.

While some residents supported the idea of the “Listening Session,” others did not hold back. One commenter wrote, “A long as the Mayor and City Council drive their personal ideologies and politics into how the City is run as a whole these issues will expand in numbers and in intensity.”

In an East Lansing Info article this week, it detailed Monday’s Board of Education meeting where a crowded room of parents and students became emotional as “teachers, students and parents wept and decried ongoing violence at the high school.”

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The article said Board President Kath Edsall responded to the public comment and said, “saying ‘I’m scared’ is not helpful.” Edsall suggested people come forward with solutions rather than “emotional testimony”, the article said.