A Black man face-down was fatally shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer during a traffic stop on April 4, according to footage released of the violent incident on Wednesday. Patrick Lyoya, 26, was killed outside a house in Grand Rapids, Michigan after a violent struggle ensued over a Taser during a routine traffic stop.
The unnamed officer repeatedly ordered Lyoya to “let go” of his Taser, at one point demanding: “Drop the Taser!”
Lyoya reportedly ran from the officer who stopped him for driving with a license plate that didn’t belong to the vehicle. They struggled in front of several homes while Lyoya’s passenger got out and watched.
The fight over the Taser lasted about 90 seconds. In the final moments, the officer was on top of Lyoya, kneeling on his back.
“From my view of the video, Taser was deployed twice. Taser did not make contact,” an eye witness identified as Winstrom told reporters. “And Mr. Lyoya was shot in the head. However, that’s the only information that I have.”
State police are investigating the shooting and await toxicology results after an autopsy.
Winstrom didn’t identify the officer, a seven-year veteran who is on paid leave during the investigation.
City Manager; Mark Washington warned the videos would lead to “expressions of shock, of anger and pain”. Some downtown businesses boarded up their storefronts, and concrete barricades surrounded the police headquarters.
Lyoya had two young daughters and five siblings, said Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke to his family.
“He arrived in the United States as a refugee with his family fleeing violence. He had his whole life ahead of him,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said.
The city’s police chief, Eric Winstrom, released four videos, including critical footage of the shooting, recorded by a passenger in Lyoya’s car.
“I view it as a tragedy. … It was a progression of sadness for me,” said Winstrom, a former high-ranking Chicago police commander who became Grand Rapids chief in March.
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