Family and Community Want Answers After Black Michigan Father Patrick Lyoya Fatally Shot by Police in Traffic Stop

Patrick Lyoya, 26, was shot during a traffic stop by a Grand Rapids officer who has been placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation.

April 11, 2022

Community activists and family members are demanding answers after Patrick Lyoya, a Black father of two in Michigan, was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop last week.

Per MLive, 26-year-old Lyoya was shot during a traffic stop on April 4 by a Grand Rapids officer who has since been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. The vehicle reportedly had a license plate that was not registered to it, and a fight ensued. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the Lyoya family, and his firm has led the charge for demanding that police release “all video evidence” pertaining to the shooting, per Fox 17.

Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said he would release the clip by Friday, April 15 at noon.

“Every Black family lives in fear that a routine traffic stop will turn deadly,” Crump shared in a statement. “Patrick’s fate is the nightmare we live with every day. It is essential that all video evidence be made public as soon as possible so that we can see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears what happened to Patrick. Full transparency is the only way to regain community trust.”

Five days after the killing, community and family members marched over Lyoya’s death, making their way through the city of Grand Rapids after starting at Amplify GR’s offices. A candlelight vigil was held at the Center for Community Transformation. During the event, a woman in the crowd sang “A Change Is Gonna Come” as family members held photos of Patrick.

Patrick’s father Peter Lyoya says he wants justice for his firstborn child, who himself was the dad of a 2-year-old and a 3-month-old. Peter, alongside interpreter Israel Siku, said Michigan State Police showed him video of the killing via cruiser dashcam footage. Peter says it shows his son get shot in the back of the head while face down on the ground. He said he could not watch the clip twice. Activists reenacted the shooting during the event last week.

“I don’t want the video to be edited,” Peter Lyoya said of the request to have the video released. “I want people to see the way my son was killed. I want the entire world to see how my son was executed.”