Services announced for murdered Lansing activist Ted Lawson
LANSING — Family members Thursday announced funeral arrangements for longtime Lansing political activist Theodore "Ted" Lawson who was shot and killed Sunday afternoon while canvassing for a city council candidate.
An obituary on the Estes-Leadley Funeral Home website says two days of viewings will take place for people to visit with family members. The first is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Estes-Leadley Greater Lansing Chapel, 325 W. Washtenaw St. A second is planned from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 21 at Tabernacle of David Church, 2645 W. Holmes Road in Lansing, with a funeral service taking place at 1 p.m. the same day.
The family asked people to offer memorial contributions in Lawson’s memory to Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that works to prevent gun violence.
Lawson, 60, is survived by his daughters Brittany Lawson and Heather Lawson, granddaughters Aurora Karr and Cassandra Kent, brothers Andy Lawson and Bradford Lawson, and mother, Mary Jo Cordell, his obituary notes.
Lawson was a U.S. Marine and later worked for Meijer as a butcher for 37 years.
Lawson worked on numerous campaigns for Democrats running for seats locally and statewide over the years, was a member of Ingham County's Board of Canvassers and served as secretary for the Ingham County Democratic Party.
On Sunday, Lawson was knocking on doors in the city's north side just a few blocks from his home as he canvassed in support of Lansing City Council at-large candidate Trini Lopez Pehlivanoglu when he was shot to death about 3 p.m., Pehlivanoglu said.
Lawson was a passionate advocate for people and issues he believed in, said Pehlivanoglu, and his death is a loss that will be felt statewide.
Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane confirmed Pehlivanoglu's statement but said Lawson's death appears to be unrelated to any political activities or beliefs.
In a statement Thursday morning, Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said Kemp intended to get money from Lawson in what he described as an attempted robbery. There is no evidence indicating politics had anything to do with the shooting, he said.
Sosebee has neither corroborated nor disputed statements that Lawson was campaigning for Pehlivanoglu when he was killed.
According to a Lansing police court filing that led to charges being issued, officers found Lawson on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. He was rushed to Sparrow, where he was pronounced dead about 4:40 p.m.
A surveillance camera captured Lawson leaving a driveway on North Jenison while three "subjects" walked on the opposite side of the street, a detective said in the court filing. A person later identified as Lamar Patrick Kemp, 15, crossed the street to make contact with Lawson, and the two walked out of camera view, the detective wrote.
Juvenile Court officers were able to identify all three youths from video footage from area cameras. Both of Kemp's companions that day — a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy — admitted being in the area, and one of them said he saw Kemp shoot Lawson after asking him for a dollar.
Police recovered a .22-caliber handgun in the house where Kemp was found, and police matched it to a casing from the shooting scene, the affidavit said.
Kemp was arraigned Wednesday on murder and weapon charges in connection with Lawson's death. He is charged as an adult. A 54A District Court judge denied bond for him pending further hearings in the case. Court records did not list an attorney for Kemp.
Lawson is the ninth homicide victim in the city this year.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Services announced for murdered Lansing activist Ted Lawson
