Residents urge Lansing council to investigate after alleged noose incident at Lehi Community Center

Erica Robinson, a Ward 4 resident, told the city council that on Sept. 6 an instructor at an archery class at the Lehi Community Center showed her a noose and said, according to Robinson, that it could be used "on your son." "He had just suggested that I should lynch my child," Robinson said, describing the incident as "shocking" and traumatic for her child.

Several speakers urged the council to act. Carlton Evans, speaking for the family, said the instructor disputes the account but asked rhetorically why a person would show a noose to a Black parent if not to intimidate; he called for the instructor’s contract with the city to be canceled. "We are seeking justice," Evans said.

Neighborhood leader Heath Lowry described the noose as "not a neutral object. It's a weapon of terror," and urged the council to use the city charter’s investigatory powers to review contracts and relationships that allow a business that provided the instructor access to city facilities to continue operating. Lowry pointed to the charter (section 3-206) as the basis for a formal review and called for transparency about whether the business continues to operate under city authority.

Other community members recounted the emotional impact on children and said they would not register for programs run by the same organization while the business retained city contracts. Speakers asked the council to review contracting and licensing records and consider whether the instructor’s access to city facilities should be suspended pending investigation.

The transcript records multiple public requests for investigation and contract review, but there was no recorded council vote or immediate staff action announced on Oct. 27.