Grand Rapids, Michigan police released multiple videos Wednesday of an officer’s fatal encounter with Patrick Lyoya earlier this month, including the videos showing the fatal shot Patrick Lyoya, a refugee from the Republic of the Congo, received during a fight after a traffic stop traffic, according to WWMT.
The Grand Rapids Police Department released video from a police body camera, a police unit’s dash cam, a cell phone and a home monitoring system, as officials answered questions from reporters at a news conference about the deadly incident that occurred on April 4.
Citing the need for transparency, andthe new city police chief, Eric Winstrom, released four videos, which include critical footage of the shooting recorded by a passenger who was in the car l of Lyoya.
“I see it as a tragedy… It was a progression of the sadness for me,” said Winstrom, a former high-ranking Chicago police commander who became chief of Grand Rapids in March. The city of some 200, people is about 150 miles northwest of Detroit.
In the videos, the officer, who is white, is seen shooting and killing Congolese refugee Patrick Lyoya, from 16 years, approximately three minutes after Lyoya was pulled over for a car license plate violation, on the southeast side of town.
In the videos, Lyoya can be seen grabbing the officer’s taser. “Drop the taser,” the officer said several times during the struggle, before firing a single shot.
Cell phone video captures the officer shooting Lyoya in the back of the head while he was on the ground.
The videos have graphic and violent content that has made YouTube require the consent of those who want to see them. The link to the unedited, heavy-duty cell phone video is here.
Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington said during the conference call press that the videos were shocking to watch.
“Unfortunately, I am here today, where another African American has died due to to the use of deadly force by law enforcement,” Washington said.
The Police said Lyoya ran from the vehicle during the traffic stop before the fight with the officer. That can be seen on the officer’s dash cam video and body camera video.
The officer’s body camera was disabled just before the officer fired a single shot, which could be heard but not seen on the officer’s video. The camera inadvertently turned off during the officer’s struggle with Lyoya, according to police.
“Stop resisting,” the officer said as his body camera showed him kneeing Lyoya.
“This is a difficult day, my heart goes out to the family of Patrick Loyoya”, Grand Rapids Police Chief Erik Winstrom said during the news conference.
The Lyoya family moved to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 550. Their first language is Swahili, said the family’s interpreter, Pastor Israel Siku. In the officer’s body camera video, the officer is heard asking Lyoya if he speaks English and he says yes.
Patrick Lyoya’s family appointed attorney Ben Crump to represent them. Benjamin Lloyd Crump is an attorney specializing in civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases, including wrongful death claims. His practice has focused on cases such as those of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and George Floyd,
This is Patrick Lyoya — a 26-year-old Congolese refugee who was shot in the BACK of the head by a Grand Rapids (MI) police officer during a routine traffic stop! pic.twitter.com/nkuN76RM7a
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) April 14, 2022
The Michigan State Police is investigating the shooting. Once completed, the investigation will be turned over to the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
“Again, I ask for patience from the community on this matter. The Michigan State Police’s independent investigation into the incident is not complete. This is an extremely critical incident, and is being taken very seriously by all involved in the investigation,” Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said in a statement Thursday by the late.
Under Michigan law, police officers may use deadly force if an officer concludes that deadly force is necessary to prevent death or bodily harm.
Winstrom said that a Taser is not perceived as a deadly weapon, but rather as an intermediate weapon with the potential to cause death or bodily harm. Winstrom said the officer’s Taser deployed twice during the 90 second struggle for the weapon.
“I will not make a political decision or make a criminal law conclusion,” said Police Chief Winstrom.
Winstrom said the officer is on paid administrative leave and is stripped of his police powers pending the outcome of the State Police investigation and refused to release the officer’s name, citing the department’s policy of not naming suspects unless charged with a crime.
Many neighbors gathered in Grand Rapids to ask for justice after the press conference:
HAPPENING NOW: Hundreds gather outside the Grand Rapids Police Department to protest the shooting of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya. Police released videos of the deadly police shooting earlier today. @wwmtnews pic.twitter.com/tU0Drx3NJo— Trisha McCauley (@TrishaWWMT) April 12, 2022
The authorities hope that the protests against police abuse and asking for jjustice for the death of Patrick Lyoya continue.
City Manager Mark Washington warned that the videos would generate “expressions of shock, anger and pain.” Some downtown businesses boarded up their storefronts and concrete barricades surrounded police headquarters.
Lyoya had two young daughters and five brothers, said Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke with her family. “He came to the United States as a refugee with his family fleeing violence. He had his whole life ahead of him,” Whitmer said.
Our hearts are with Patrick Lyoya’s family and the Grand Rapids community, who are dealing with unimaginable pain and loss. pic.twitter.com/NAbD4Dphar—Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) April 12, 2022
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