Protests continue for 6th day in Grand Rapids over fatal police shooting of Lyoya
Demonstrations over police brutality have continued in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the 6th consecutive day, following the police killing of Patrick Lyoya.
Protesters gathered on Sunday near Rosa Parks Circle in yet another demonstration following the release of a video showing the shooting death of Lyola, a Black man, at the hands of a white police officer.
Demonstrators wrote “defund the police” in chalk on the side walk.
Lyoya, 26, died on April 4, when he was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids Police Department officer during a traffic stop.
He was pulled over for a non-matching license plate, the police said. The video released by police shows Lyoya gets out of the car, and the officer gets out and tells him to get back in the car.
Following a physical altercation, the video shows that the officer lies on the back of Lyoya for about 90 seconds as the two scuffle. The officer can be heard telling Lyoya to "stop" and to "let go of the Taser." He then proceeds to shoot him.
Attorney Ben Crump condemned what he termed an “unnecessary, unreasonable, excessive use of fatal force” by the officer, who “escalated a small traffic check into a lethal execution” at a news conference.
He stated that there was nothing “to justify him going for his service handgun, taking it, placing it behind Patrick’s ear, and squeezing the fire. Blowing off his head.”
The Lyoya family’s attorneys want the officer who fatally shot the man to be identified, punished, and dismissed from the Police Department.
The officer has been placed on paid leave in the meantime, awaiting the outcome of the state investigation.
Protests have been held ever since the video was released. On Saturday, Hundreds of people marched in downtown Grand Rapids, chanting “there is no justice in this nation” and “Justice for Patrick.”
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