A Michigan police officer fought with a black man before shooting him dead from behind while the driver was on the ground, according to videos from the April 4 shooting that were released Wednesday. Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan, released four videos, including cell phone footage showing Patrick Loya’s shooting after a traffic jam was recorded by a passenger in Loya’s car. The video shows Lyoya, 26, running from the scene after a police officer stopped him for violating a license plate. They raced on the front grass of some houses in a Grand Rapids neighborhood. Prior to the release of the videos, city manager Mark Washington warned that they would lead to public “expressions of shock, anger and pain”. More than 100 people marched on Grand Rapids Town Hall before the City Council meeting on Tuesday night, chanting “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace”. There is a minute’s silence as two activists pretend that Mr. Lyoya’s family says he was killed at the end of the April 9 march. Daniel Shular | MLive.com/The Associated Press “The video contains strong language as well as graphic images resulting in the loss of life. “Discretion of the spectators is recommended,” said Police Chief Eric Winstrom. Winstrom said last week that he had met Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya, and that they both cried. “I understand that as a father. “It’s just disappointing,” the leader told WOOD-TV. Kent County Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cohle said he completed the autopsy on the day of Lyoya’s death, but that the toxicological results were not complete. He said the full report would not be released until state police completed the investigation. “This is the standard operating process,” Cohle said. As in many US cities, Grand Rapids police have at times been criticized for using violence, particularly against blacks, who make up 18 percent of the population. In November, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit regarding the practice of photographing and taking fingerprints of people who had never been charged with a crime. Grand Rapids said the policy changed in 2015. A downtown street has been named after Breonna Taylor Way, named after a black woman and Grand Rapids native who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, during a failed drug raid in 2020. The Morning and Afternoon Newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
