(John Ransom, Headline USA) Body cam and neighborhood surveillance video showed that Patrick Lyoya refused to obey a Grand Rapids Police officer and assaulted him before he was shot to death.
The police provided several different camera angles, including dash cam video, body cam video, and neighborhood video in compiling an account of what happened after Lyoya, 26, was stopped for illegal registration of a vehicle.
The dash cam video shows Lyoya getting out of the car prior to the officer approaching the car, then refusing to obey the officer in telling him to get back into the car
The other videos shows Lyoya running away from the officer and struggling with the officer and finally grabbing the officer’s taser before being fatally shot in the head.
In the video, one can clearly hear the officer say “Drop the taser,” before the audio of the shooting occurs.
BREAKING: Video footage released by the Grand Rapids Police Department shows an officer shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head. WARNING ⚠: The video contains strong language and graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised. pic.twitter.com/mBMoozMVcu
— FOX 17 (@FOX17) April 13, 2022
By releasing the video, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom redeemed a pledge that he made when the shooting first occurred to release the video at the earliest opportunity.
“I will release the video from Monday’s officer involved shooting no later than noon on Friday, April 15th,” Winstrom said via Twitter.
When asked by reporters what a officer is trying to do in such a situation, Winstrom said an officer would try to arrest a noncompliant suspect, according to CNN.
“The follow-up question, I’m sure, will be was the use of force in policy, and I’m not going to comment on that. But the test 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 officer,” Winstrom added.
The family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, accusing the officer of unnecessarily using lethal force in the shooting.
“The Lyoya family came to our country in pursuit of the American dream, but instead are now living a traumatic American nightmare as they have to bury their loved one due to police brutality,” said Crump in a statement, according to WZZM local 13.
After release of the video, protesters gathered downtown Grand Rapids with chants of “No Justice, No peace,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Justice for Patrick,” and “Killer Cop,” noted the Grand Rapidian.
A riot of historic proportions took place in Grand Rapids just two years ago after George Floyd was killed by officers in Minneapolis Minnesota.
Videos show police cruisers burning while local authorities said that much of downtown suffered from smashed windows, looting, arson, and vandalism.
The identity of the officer is not being released pending the outcome of an investigation.
