The videos released by the Grand Rapids Police Department included the officer’s worn camera, the camera from the officer’s car, surveillance video from a house across the street, and video from a cell phone recorded by a passenger in the car.
The moments just before the shot are hard to tell, as the camera was turned off, the video surveillance is long distance and the cell phone is often pointing to the ground instead of the officer and Lyoya. However, the two men appeared to be fighting for the officer’s Taser at certain points in the videos.
A still image from a cell phone video taken before Patrick Lyoya was fatally shot. Grand Rapids Police Station
In the videos, the police officer, who is White, pulls Liogia to drive with unmatched license plates. Lyoya gets out of his car and the unidentified police officer immediately tells him to stay in the car. Liogia stays out of the car and closes the door. The officer asks if Lyoya speaks English and for his leave several times. Lyoya tells him that the license is in the car. The officer then instructs Lyoya to take it.
Lyoya seems to be asking a passenger for permission, but the passenger does not seem to know where he is. As Lyoya tries to walk to the side of the co-driver of the car, the policeman tells him to stop and grabs him. After a brief battle, Lyoya manages to free himself and a chase ensues. The officer confronts Lyoya on a nearby grass and the two fight on the ground for a long time as the officer repeatedly tells Lyoya to stop. The officer seems to subdue Lyoya for a while and the two get up, however, the fight continues.
At some point, although it is not clear exactly when due to the proximity of the match and the poor quality of the video from the surveillance video opposite, the police officer pulls out his Taser. He was reportedly shot twice, but according to Cedar Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom, Taser lost Lyoya both times. The two of them continue to fight and at times it seems that both men have their hands on the gun. The two men fall to the ground again as the officer repeatedly tells Loya to leave Teiser. At one point the passenger is heard to say that Lyoya is not touching the Taser.
With Lyoya face down on the ground, the officer manages to climb over him. The officer, continuing to tell Lyoya to leave Taser, pulls out his gun and shoots Lyoya in the head.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon to read the videos, Winstrom said the body camera had been turned off because the button controlling the recording function had been pressed for more than three seconds during the race. Winstrom said he calculated from the video that the two men had been fighting over the Teaser for about 90 seconds.
The officer is on paid leave, while the Michigan State Police are conducting an investigation into the shooting. Winstrom said the officer would not be identified unless charged with a crime.
During the press conference, Winstrom repeatedly denied making definitive statements as to whether he felt the shooting was justified or whether any of the officer’s actions might have violated the department’s policy. He said these determinations will be made by the state police investigation.
“I see it as a tragedy,” he said.
Lawyer Ben Crump, who represents Lyoya’s family, said in a statement after the press conference that “the video clearly shows that this was an unnecessary, excessive and deadly use of force against an unarmed black man who was confused by the meeting and terrorized. for his life “.
Police Reform & Racial Justice
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