The Michigan cop who fatally shot 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya, on April 4 has been charged with second-degree murder, according to Kent County officials. The event, in which an officer shot Lyoya in the skull during a traffic check after a scuffle, caused widespread anger and demands for the officer to be punished.
Who Was Patrick Lyoya?
Patrick Lyoya, the eldest of Peter and Dorcas Lyoya’s six children, was born on February 5, 1996, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lyoya has been energetic and enthusiastic since she was a child. He was a passionate dancer and soccer aficionado.
“He was a jewel in his family and the head of his siblings,” according to a funeral program prepared in both English and Lyoya’s native Swahili. “Patrick enjoyed it when the entire family got together just to spend holidays.”It went on to say, “Patrick was a warm and caring person who would do everything for his family and friends.”
Four days after his son’s death, his dad told through a translator, “Patrick was a nice person, he loved people.” “He treated me like a brother.” It went on to say, “Patrick was a warm and loving person who would do everything for his family and friends.”
Lyoya fled the Congo as a teen, living several years in a Malawian refugee camp before emigrating to the United States at the age of eighteen. Lyoya briefly attended Everett High School in Lansing when he first arrived.
Years later, he’d accompany a buddy he made in the refugee camp to Restoration Community Church in Wyoming, a small Methodist church within a larger Methodist church that occupies a facility with Wesley United Methodist.
Lyoya couldn’t be more than 23 years old when he first stepped through the church’s gates, according to his priest, Banza Mukalay, who is also a Congolese native who spent some time in a refugee camp.
Mukalay recalls, “He was quite ready to alter his life and [do] something positive.” “He had a bright future ahead of him.” Mukalay, like the rest of Grand Rapids, saw the recordings of Lyoya’s murder aired on Livestream by the Grand Rapids Police Department on April 13th.
“I was astounded,” he continued, “because it never occurred to me that Patrick could die.” “Everyone was extremely depressed by what happened to Patrick. Anyone who has spoken to a refugee will tell you the same thing. We were quite disappointed seeing how things turned out.
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Michigan Cop Charged With Second-Degree Murder Of Patrick Lyoya
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker stated that he feels there is valid proof to sustain the officer’s second-degree murder indictment. Becker said at a Thursday news conference that the charge is a criminal offense by up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Schurr has turned himself in, according to Becker, and will be sentenced on Friday.
The Michigan cop, who is White, pulls over Lyoya, who is Black, for traveling with mismatched plates, according to a video provided by the Grand Rapids Police Department in April.
Despite the officer’s orders to stay inside, Lyoya was seen getting out of the car on camera. Lyoya appears to ask a rider to acquire his license and then decides to walk towards the passenger seat of the automobile when told to do so.
The policeman then tells Lyoya to come to a halt and grabs him. After a brief fight, Lyoya manages to break away, and the officer pursues him on foot. On a nearby grass, the Michigan cop tackles Lyoya, and the two begin to fight.
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The officer shoots his Taser twice, but Cedar Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom says both times he missed Lyoya. As the conflict continues, it seems that both men have their clutches on the Taser at times.
The Michigan cop can be frequently heard instructing Lyoya to remove his hand off the Taser, despite the fact that the passenger claims Lyoya isn’t grabbing it. The Michigan cop is ultimately seen standing on top of Lyoya and firing him in the head. He was murdered by a shot to the head, according to an impartial autopsy.
The officer’s body camera, the officer’s car dashcam, security video from a residence across the road, and cell phone video taken by a person in the car were among the recordings released by police. Even yet, some of the dialogue — particularly the seconds prior to the shooting — is hard to decipher.
The body-worn camera had been deactivated at the time of the incident, the security footage was from a long distance away, and the mobile phone was frequently pointing at the floor rather than the officer and Lyoya.
Winstrom said the bodycam had been disabled because the switch that regulates the record function had been pushed for more than three seconds during the struggle during a news appearance in April. According to the footage, he believes the two guys struggled for around 90 seconds over the Taser before the killing.
Winstrom told the Associated Press on Thursday that he would propose firing Schurr, but he is entitled to a hearing and the city manager will make the final decision.
Lyoya’s family has spoken out against the shooting, with his father telling CBS News that his son was “slaughtered like an animal” in April. According to Peter Lyoya, the family escaped the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014 in hope of better life.
Peter Lyoya told CBS News, “I came here to rescue my family.” “Like an animal, my son was murdered.” “The one who was meant to defend Patrick’s life is the one who murdered Patrick and took Patrick’s life,” he continued. Lyoya family attorney Benjamin Crump praised the decision to charge Schurr as a “crucial step in the right way” in a statement released Thursday.
“While Patrick and his family’s journey to justice are only beginning, this decision is a critical step in the right direction,” Crump said. “Officer Schurr must be held responsible for pursuing an unarmed Patrick, killing him in the back of the skull and killing him for no reason other than a traffic stop.”
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