Police Officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan Fatally Shoots Unarmed Black Man During a Traffic Stop

April 14, 2022 - Written by S.J.

After increased pressure from the public, Grand Rapids police have released video footage depicting the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26 year old Black man, during a traffic stop last Monday.

On the morning of April 4, Lyoya, who immigrated to the United States eight years ago from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was driving with a passenger when he was pulled over by a white Grand Rapids, Michigan police officer.

During the traffic stop, the officer, whose name has yet to be released, asked Lyoya if he spoke English. Lyoya got out of the car and stood beside it. He said he did speak English and seemed confused about why he'd been pulled over. The officer proceeded to question him about the car’s registration and requested to see Lyoya’s identification, after which a struggle ensued. The officer forced Lyoya onto the ground in a yard near where the stop occurred and attempted to utilize his Taser, but Lyoya pushed the stun gun away. At this point the officer’s body camera became deactivated.

The newly-released footage, which includes a cell phone video taken by the passenger of the car, as well as a video from a nearby home’s security camera, documented what happened next.

Once Lyoya was wrestled to the ground, face down, the officer climbed on top of him. The officer proceeded to reach for his gun and shot Lyoya in the back of the head, in a manner which has been described by both Robert Womack–the Kent County Commissioner–and Lyoya’s family as an “execution.”

Lyoya was unarmed.

Womack, who has asked that the police department make the name of the officer involved in the shooting public, spoke at a community meeting on Wednesday, "We want to see more deescalation, more training, but that's enough about the system cause everyone is going to be emotionally hurt when they see [the video]…”

During a press conference, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom, who had been chief for less than a month at the time of the shooting, framed the incident in terms of policy, "You're trying to place him in custody. That's it," he explained. "The follow-up question will be, was the use of force and policy — and I'm not going to comment on that — but the test (for that policy) is going to be whether in the view of a reasonable police officer, whether that deadly force was needed to prevent death or great bodily harm to that police officer?”

In a statement, Ben Crump, attorney for the Lyoya family, explained, “The video clearly shows that this was an unnecessary, excessive, and fatal use of force against an unarmed Black man who was confused by the encounter and terrified for his life. It should be noted that Patrick never used violence against this officer even though the officer used violence against him in several instances for what was a misdemeanor traffic stop.”

In addition to the Lyoya family, Civil Rights Attorney Crump has famously represented the families of George Floyd, Daunte Wright, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin, among others. “You cannot shoot an unarmed person just because they resist,” Crump insisted during a press conference. “And you cannot shoot an unarmed person just because of the color of their skin.”

Activists are demanding the officer responsible for Lyoya’s death be fired and legally held accountable.