E.L. police investigating reports of bananas left in public as a racist gesture

EAST LANSING – Police are asking residents to let them know if they find any bananas left in public places as a possible racist gesture.

East Lansing Deputy Police Chief Steve Gonzalez said his department received one confirmed report on Wednesday night of a banana with "Black Lives Matter" written on it being found in a public place. BLM is a group working to end incidents of police brutality against black people such as the May 25 death of George Floyd while in custody of the Minneapolis police.

Police have heard that two or three others like it also were found, but those incidents had not been reported to the department as of Thursday afternoon, he said.

"We want people to call us so we can document it," Gonzalez said. "This is an open investigation, and it's a priority for our detective bureau."

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 319-6884, he said.

Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.