NAACP denounces Schor's treatment of employees, references discrimination lawsuits
Sarah Lehr
LANSING – The Lansing chapter of the NAACP has "denounced Mayor Andy Schor's actions" related to his handling of former city employees and incidents involving people in Lansing police custody, according to a news release Tuesday from the civil rights organization.
Schor announced last month he is running for another four-year term. The date of the news release coincides with Tuesday's filing deadline for candidates seeking a spot on Lansing's 2021 ballot.
"We are in a dire moment in Lansing and we must begin to address critical concerns of the people," the news release said. "Numerous lives are being affected by Mayor Schor's actions and must be addressed immediately. ... We demand accountability now – not more reports and recommendations."
Schor hired a consultant last year to lead a diversity task force that is reviewing wide-ranging racial equity issues in the city. Among other issues, the task force is examining Lansing's climate for city employees. It also could recommend reforms to the police department's use of force policy.
“While I disagree with the statement pushed by some new members of the NAACP, I am incredibly proud of the diversity of my administration," Schor said in a statement Tuesday. "We will continue the job of working together, with residents and leaders across Lansing, toward a more equitable future for all.”
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"We of course always keep the lines of communication open" with the city, NAACP Lansing Branch President Dale Copedge said. "But some are a little tired of how the progress seems not to be moving in a manner that they feel it should be."
Since the NAACP is a nonprofit organization, it will not be endorsing candidates in the mayor's race, Copedge said Tuesday.
The branch has received "several" civil rights complaints involving Schor's administration, Copedge said. He declined to name the complainants or to give further information while matters are pending.
Lansing involved in multiple racial discrimination lawsuits
The mayor is is among the defendants in a 2020 lawsuit from seven current and former Black employees who say they faced a hostile work environment because of their race and were retaliated against when they complained. The people suing include Lansing's former fire chief Randy Talifarro, who said he resigned from Lansing in 2018 because Schor's administration didn't do enough to promote diversity in the fire department. Attorneys for the city denied the allegations in response to the lawsuit.
And Lansing faces two other ongoing racial discrimination lawsuits from former Lansing firefighter Michael Lynn, Jr., who is Black.
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Fire Chief Greg Martin fired Lynn in February after Lynn shared Police chief Daryl Green's city-issued cell number to Facebook in a public post that invited people to call Green and complain about a since-deleted Facebook post that honored a police dog killed in 1999 without naming the Black teenager killed by police in the same incident.
Lynn, who had been on unpaid leave from the city prior to his firing, cast his dismissal as political retribution because of his frequent criticism of Schor.
One of Lynn's lawsuits names Schor as a defendant. Because of the litigation, the mayor said he "deliberately removed" himself from knowledge of or involvement with the employment investigation that led to Lynn's termination.
"There are procedures in our collective bargaining agreements for discipline of employees who act out against other employees," Schor said in a February statement.
The numerous lawsuits are "not a record acceptable of any mayor," the NAACP's release said.
Lynn chairs the NAACP's community coordination committee and co-leads Lansing's chapter of Black Lives Matter.
In response to Lynn's lawsuits, attorneys for the city denied that Lansing failed to protect Lynn from ongoing discrimination or that Lansing officials retaliated against him for reporting racism.
Lansing BLM has been calling for Schor's resignation since this summer when Schor declined during a virtual town hall conversation to commit to defunding the police department.
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Lansing fired a police officer for "aggressive" and "unprofessional" tactics while clearing two others involved in the 2020 arrest of a Black man at Baker Street, the police department announced Friday.
Schor and Green also have faced criticism for their handling of the aftermath when a white man who died by asphyxiation in 2020 after being restrained by Lansing police in the city jail.
The Ingham County Prosecutor's office called the officers' use of force in the Baker Street arrest "concerning," but said it didn't rise to the level of criminal charges. Michigan's Attorney General's office declined to pursue criminal charges against the officers involved in the jail death, although a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city is pending.
The Lansing Police Department allowed the officers who restrained Hulon to return to work while the AG's criminal investigation was still pending, which is a violation of Lansing's critical incident policy.
Once the AG's investigation concluded, Green said LPD launched an internal inquiry into the incident to examine "the officers’ actions, and the department’s procedures, equipment and training."
Contact reporter Sarah Lehr at slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.