As previously reported by REVOLT, on April 4, Patrick Lyoya — a 26-year-old Black man — was fatally shot in the back of his head during a traffic stop. Yesterday (April 13), bodycam footage was released to the public.
After activists and local community leaders — including Civil Rights attorney Benjamin Crump — came together for an April 10 vigil in remembrance of Lyoya, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker had said the footage would not be released until an investigation was complete.
According to local ABC affiliate WZZM 13, the Grand Rapids Police Department has gone against Becker’s wishes and released the footage early.
Lyoya’s family had disputed police claims of the incident and demanded that the video be made public. Lyoya’s Congolese family had been using an interpreter, Israel Siku, to translate and relay messages.
Siku told the press that the officer who was involved “shot him in the back of the head, point-blank” and called the video “painful to watch.”
The incident took place just after 8 a.m. on April 4 near the intersection of Griggs Street and Nelson Avenue SE in Grand Rapids. The officer claimed that during a traffic stop for a faulty license plate, Lyoya ran away and then a fight between the two began.
It was reported that the shooting occurred during the struggle.
In the videos that are now public, multiple angles are shown including dashcam video, bodycam video, cell phone footage and a neighbor’s doorbell security footage. It is the cell phone video that captures the exact moment of Lyoya’s death.
According to sources, the Grand Rapids Police Department said that parts of their footage were not included to “protect the privacy of some,” but went on to say that no audio had been edited.
Lyoya’s family had fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United States in 2014 to escape violence.
Video of the graphic incident is below.