Grand Rapids Police Department released videos on Wednesday of what led to the shooting of Patrick Lyoya, 26, a refugee of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The shooting occurred on April 4, 2022, when a Grand Rapids Police officer pulled Lyoya over in a residential neighborhood when his registration did not match the car he was driving.
Lyoya can be seen exiting the vehicle before the officer approaches and appears confused when the officer questions him about a driver’s license. He tells the officer his license is in the car but doesn’t produce one. He closes the car door and begins to walk away from the officer. The officer tries to stop him, and Lyoya runs.
Four videos are shown of the incident from the police car dash cam, the officer’s body cam, a ring door bell from across the street, and from a cell phone witness. The incident lasted about four and a half minutes from the time the officer exits the car to the shooting.
During the struggle, a taser is deployed twice without striking Lyoya. As the struggle moves across a yard, the officer is on top of Lyoya, and is heard telling Lyoya to let go of the taser. The officer reaches for his firearm and shoots Lyoya in the back of the head as Lyoya is trying to get up.
The only clear video of the shooting was from the cell phone camera. It is graphic.
Autopsy reports are not yet complete for the Michigan State Police investigation.
Police Chief Eric Winstrom, new to the Grand Rapids department after five weeks, said there was no weapon recovered from Lyoya. The officer involved remains unnamed, on paid leave, and stripped of his powers as a police officer.
Lyoya’s family and Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack have described the shooting as an “execution.”
Attorney Ben Crump is representing the family.