By Aaron Miller-
Police in the U.S have released footage of an incident where a black man was fatally shot in the back of the head by a police officer.
The newly released footage also shows the moments leading up to the shooting, including the traffic stop over suspicions involving Lyoya’s license plate, which led to a brief foot chase and struggle over the cop’s Taser.
The shooting was sparked over a struggle between the man and the officer after the cop produced a tazer in an attempt to either restrain or warn him about the presence of the tazer.
Patrick Lyoya, 26, was stopped earlier this month for driving with a licence plate that did not match the vehicle, when he tried to run from the unidentified officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The mismatch between the vehicle and the plate number attracted the cop, but Lyoya decided to struggle with the cop.
A struggle ensued over the officer’s Taser for about 90 seconds, with the white officer kneeling on top of Mr Lyoya in an effort to subdue him. Why Lyoya would choose to engaged an armed cop over his tazer is unknown.
It is not visibly clear from any of the videos if or when Lyoya tried to grab the cop’s Taser, but the cop is heard yelling at him to let go of the device, which was deployed twice, but didn’t strike anyone, officials said.
Lyoya’s family have retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been dubbed ‘Black America’s Attorney General’. He also represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Ahmaud Aubrey and Trayvon Martin. He is calling for the officer to be fired and prosecuted
Footage was collected from Mr Lyoya’s passenger, the officer’s body-worn camera, the officer’s patrol car, and the doorbell camera of a nearby house.
The city’s new police chief Eric Winstrom released footage from Mr. Lyoya’s passenegr, the officer’s body-worn camera, the officer’s patrol car, and the doorbell camera of a nearby petrol car. All four, citing the need for transparency and describing the incident as “a tragedy”, adding: “It was a progression of sadness for me”.
The footage shows Mr Lyoya, who was from the Democratic Republic of Congo, getting out of the car before the officer approached.
The officer, a seven-year veteran who is on paid leave during the investigation and has not been named publicly, ordered Mr Lyoya to get back in the vehicle, but Mr Lyoya refused. He asked Mr Lyoya if he spoke English and the chase began shortly afterwards.
The two fought over the officer’s Taser, with the officer ordering Mr Lyoya to “let go” and “drop the Taser”.
Mr Winstrom said: “From my view of the video, Taser was deployed twice. Taser did not make contact.
“And Mr Lyoya was shot in the head. However, that is the only information I have.”
A Grand Rapids Police officer asks Patrick Lyoya if he speaks English, as he stands near a car during a traffic stop, shortly before he was shot dead by the officer during a scuffle on a suburban front lawn in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. April 4, 2022 in a still image from police body camera video. Video taken April 4, 2022. Pic: Grand Rapids Police
Prosecutor Chris Becker will decide whether the police officer will face charges but said the public should not expect a quick decision, adding that the videos were “not all of the evidence”.
Mr Lyoya, a father of two young daughters, arrived in the US with his family as a refugee, according to Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.
More than 100 people marched to Grand Rapids City Hall on Tuesday night. chanting “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace”.
On Wednesday, after the release of the videos, several hundred people gathered outside the city’s police department, demanding that the name of the officer be made public.