After student from MD was killed by police, family demands to see unedited video

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EAST LANSING —The family of a 21-year-old Michigan State University student from Maryland who was shot and killed by police in connection with a stabbing incident last week is demanding police release complete, unedited video and audio evidence.

“The family has been informed that video evidence may be compiled or edited before it is shown,” Teresa Bingman, an attorney for Isaiah Kirby’s family, said in an April 22 statement. “The family, and the public, are entitled to complete, unedited video evidence. Transparency cannot be selective.”

Bingman’s office also released a statement from Karyn Kirby, Isaiah’s mother.

“While our grief is heavy, we are demanding answers based on facts and untouched video and audio evidence that show my son’s alleged involvement in any of the incidents and/or other actions that took place at the scene,” the statement said.

Kirby, of Owings, in Calvert County, was shot and killed during an incident police described as a stabbing that led to a fatal shooting by officers at a business at Lake Lansing and Abbot roads shortly after 6 p.m. on April 15.

While on the way to an initial call regarding a theft from a business, a 911 caller reported that a victim had been stabbed. When police arrived, they fatally shot the stabbing suspect, officials said.

The victim of the stabbing, attorney Douglas Meilock, underwent surgery for his injuries and was released from the hospital over the weekend, police said. Meilock was not acquainted with his attacker, they said.

On Wednesday, April 22, East Lansing police Capt. Adrian Ojerio told the State Journal his department cannot publicly release all of the video and audio evidence from the incident but will release a video timeline of the events in coming weeks. He said the names of the officers involved in the shooting also will be released.

Michigan State Police investigators are conducting the inquiry into the shooting, as the agency often does when deadly force is used by local police departments.

Isaiah Kirby was a senior at MSU majoring in zoology, with concentrations in herpetology and aquarium science, Karyn Kirby said in her April 22 statement.

“He looked forward to graduating in a few weeks, and our entire family and community looked forward to celebrating his success,” she said.

Isaiah Kirby worked part-time at the Potter Park Zoo, she said. He was scheduled to be interviewed for a job at a zoo in Austin Texas on April 17, his mother said.

“In the days since his death, we have been present in East Lansing, trying to understand what happened,” Karyn Kirby’s statement said. “Instead of clarity, we have only been met with confusion, limited information, and decisions being made without our knowledge.”

The statement went on to say the family has sought basic information about Isaiah’s injuries and the circumstances of his death, and what they learned “raises serious and painful questions that demand answers.”

“We want the truth. We want transparency. We want accountability − and we demand justice,” Karyn Kirby said in her statement.

Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.