Protesters call for an end to police brutality against minorities.
Photo: Stephen Zenner/Getty Images
Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Wednesday released multiple videos of an officer’s encounter with Patrick Lyoya earlier this month, including two videos showing the fatal shooting of African-American Patrick Lyoya during a fight after a traffic stopaccording 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 surveillance system, as officers fielded reporters’ questions in a press conference on the deadly incident that occurred on April 4.
The videos show the officer, who is white, shooting and killing 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya. about three minutes after pulling Lyoya over for a 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.
Cellphone 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. Link to heavy content unedited cell phone video is here
Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington said during the news conference that the videos were shocking to watch.
“Unfortunately, I am here today, where another African American has died due to the use of deadly force by law enforcement,” Washington said.
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 was 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 2014. 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 has appointed attorney Ben Crump to represent them. Benjamin Lloyd Crump is an attorney who specializes 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,
Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting. Once complete, the investigation will be turned over to the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
“Once again, I ask the community for patience in 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.” said Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker in a statement Thursday afternoon.
Under Michigan law, police officers may use deadly force if a reasonable officer concludes that deadly force is necessary to prevent death or bodily harm.
Winstrom said a Taser is not perceived as a deadly weapon, but as a medium 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,” Police Chief Winstrom said.
Winstrom said the officer is on paid administrative leave and is stripped of his police powers pending the outcome of the State Police investigation. Winstrom declined to release the officer’s name, citing the department’s policy of not naming suspects unless they are charged with a crime.
Many gathered in Grand Rapids to call for justice after the press conference:
The authorities hope that protests against police abuse and calling for jjustice for the death of Patrick Lyoya continue.
It may interest you:
– Minnesota police hold children ages 10 to 16 believed to be shooting suspects for hours
– Denver must pay $14 million for excessive force during George Floyd protests in 2020
– Video shows a guard putting his knee on the neck of a 12-year-old girl in Wisconsin
Source-laopinion.com