With temperatures dropping below 10 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday evening, Michigan cops were caught on video abusing a homeless Black person who said they were only trying to get out of the cold inside the city’s transportation center. “I’m here because it’s cold outside, and I have nowhere to go,” the person said as two Lansing police officers had them face down on the floor after both cops placed their knees on the person’s back and neck. “I have nothing. I haven’t done anything wrong and this is how you treat me?” A homeless Black person was brutally arrested by Lansing cops in Michigan after trying to seek shelter in the city’s main transportation hub to escape freezing temperatures. (Photo: facebook.com/groups/744438362914486) Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus told local media that the person arrested had previously been trespassed from the Capital Area Transit Authority Transportation Center in the city’s downtown. Backus also said one of the cops involved “has been removed from patrol and reassigned to administrative duty during the complaint investigation.” Backus also acknowledged the arrest took place during a Code Blue alert, which is when the city opens and extends the hours for shelters to take in homeless people during subfreezing temperatures. In fact, three days before the incident, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor extended the city’s Code Blue alert throughout the weekend until Feb. 2, local media reported last week. And one of the shelters listed in the article is the CATA Transportation Center in downtown Lansing, the same station where the video was recorded. The article goes on to say that local cops will be transporting people to shelters rather than forcing them out. “The Code Blue plan enables local shelters to operate additional hours and temporarily increase capacity,” states the article published on January 22. “The plan also allows Lansing Fire and Police departments to transport people needing assistance to local shelters.” But on Jan. 25, the Black homeless person entered the station and was pounced on by two cops and accused of trespassing.  The video, which lasts 2:22 minutes, begins with the cops ordering the person out of the station with one cop saying, “better start walking now.” “I’m going to walk,” the Black person responds, but then each cop grabs one arm to drag the detainee down to the ground. “Hold on, I’m walking.” But the cops decide to make an arrest with one cop kneeling on their thigh and the other cops ordering, “put your f_cking hands behind your back now” while placing the person in a headlock to bring them down. One cop places his knee on the person’s back while the other cop places his knee on the back of their neck, forcing their face into the floor. “I haven’t trespassed, I haven’t done anything,” the Black person is saying. Watch the video below. ‘History of Violence’? Lansing police did not release the identity of the Black person arrested, but the video shows the person was dressed as a woman, but revealed to be a biological man after cops had them facedown on the floor. Chief Backus also did not release the names of the cops involved, but he did release the following statement to local media, saying the person arrested had a “history of violence and threats with weapons towards other riders.” “The Lansing Police Department (LPD) responded Sunday night to a trespassing complaint at CATA’s downtown transportation center (CTC) in Lansing regarding an unhoused individual who is banned indefinitely from the CTC based on a history of violence and threats with weapons towards other riders. Consistent with our mission and values, CATA is deeply committed to supporting the needs of our community’s unhoused population at all times, particularly during extreme weather, while ensuring the safety of our riders and staff. We fully support the use of the CTC as a warming center during business hours when a Code Blue extreme weather alert has been declared by the city. And we believe every effort should be made to assist individuals in need with transportation to an appropriate shelter. Individuals who engage in disruptive, threatening or illegal behavior are subject to a ban from our facilities and services. CATA believes the rights and safety of all who use our services are paramount. Ensuring the safety of all riders, including area students, as well as CATA staff and others who frequent the CTC, is a responsibility CATA takes very seriously. The Lansing Police Department is currently reviewing this incident and CATA is fully cooperating while undertaking its own review of internal policies and procedures.” Without the person’s name, it is impossible to confirm whether this person had a history of violence. Community Outrage Despite the person’s alleged history of threats and violence, commenters who watched the video were outraged over the aggressive tactics against a person who was not displaying violence in the video, leaving the following comments on the Lansing State Journal’s article on Facebook about the incident. “Doesn’t justify the aggression officers used. Not to mention it’s FREEZING!!” wrote one commenter.  “He might have been banned and trespassing, but that is no reason for LPD to slam his head on the floor and put a knee on the back of his neck. If you want my opinion, he has a case for excessive force against LPD,” said another.  “But did they deserve to be treated that way, I see no resisting or beating the police.. they didn’t deserve that at all,” said another commenter. “Was the ‘bans’ not revoked during this code blue ? Is the cata station not a warming center? So if this person would have froze to death would cata have been willing to explain to their family why they died from being banned!?!? Lansing police and the cata station should be ashamed!!!” said another commenter.  “There was no need to pound that man’s head into the ground nor put a knee in his face. Over use of power and I don’t care what anyone has to say,” said another. The video first surfaced Saturday on Geoph Aldora Espen’s Facebook page, but he said he was not the person who recorded it. Last year, Lansing police made headlines after handcuffing a 12-year-old Black boy taking out the garbage, accusing him of “matching the description” of an adult Black male wanted for allegedly stealing cars. ‘I Have Nowhere to Go!’: Michigan Cops Caught on Video Abusing Homeless Black Person Who Entered Bus Station for Warmth During Freezing Temperatures ...read more read less