Patrick Lyoya’s father says he was ‘killed like an animal’ after release of footage of police shooting

Patrick Lyoya was shot in the head at close range by an unidentified white police officer after being pulled over for a traffic stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on 4 April

The grieving father of an unarmed Black man who was fatally shot in the head by a white police officer in Michigan has said his son was “killed like an animal” after shocking footage was released to the public.

Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old who had moved to the US with his family from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014 , was killed by an unidentified officer after being pulled over for a traffic stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on 4 April.

The 26-year-old’s father Peter Lyoya spoke out about his death to CBS News, questioning how the same people who are supposed to protect the public could be responsible for killing his son.

“My son has been killed like an animal,” he said through an interpreter.

“The one [who] was supposed to be protecting Patrick’s life, is the one [who] killed Patrick and take Patrick’s life away.”

Mr Lyoya revealed that his family had moved to America in the hopes of having a safer life than they experienced in their home country, saying he “came here to save my family”.

The family, who are being represented by prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, are demanding accountability for Lyoya’s killing and have described his death as an “execution”.

Calls are also growing in the community for the identity of the white officer to be released and for him to face criminal charges for killing the Black man.

Protests have been held in the City of Grand Rapids for the last two nights, after police released footage of Lyoya being killed by the officer.

A Grand Rapids Police officer grasps the shirt of Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop shortly before shooting him dead (via REUTERS)

On Wednesday, the Grand Rapids Police Department released several videos of the 4 April encounter showing Lyoya being pulled over in his car by the officer before a struggle breaks out and the officer pins Lyoya to the ground and deploys his taser.

The incident then ends with the officer firing one fatal shot in the back of the Black man’s head.

The roughly two-and-a-half minute long footage includes clips from four different videos: the officer’s police cruiser dashboard camera, the officer’s body-worn camera, surveillance footage from a nearby home, and phone video captured by a person riding in a car with Lyoya.

It begins with the officer pulling Lyoya over for a traffic stop at around 8am for allegedly driving with an improper licence plate.

When he pulls over, the Black man exits the vehicle.

“Stay in the car! Dude, I’m stopping you,” the officer says.

Patrick Lyoya runs from the officer before a struggle ensues (via REUTERS)

Bodycam footage shows Lyoya appearing visibly confused.

The officer asks for his driver’s licence and asks if he speaks English to which Lyoya replies “yes” and asks what he has done wrong.

He then turns to the door and speaks briefly to the passenger inside, before closing the driver’s side door and taking a few slow steps towards the front of the car.

At that moment, the officer starts saying “no, no, no, stop” and “put your hands behind your head” and grabs Lyoya by the arms.

A struggle then breaks out with the Black man pushing the officer away and running to the sidewalk.

The officer tackles him to the ground and the two men continue to struggle on a lawn, with the officer heard telling Lyoya to “stop resisting”.

During the struggle, the officer fires his taser twice at Lyoya who then appears to grab the device from him.

The bodycam cuts off at that point but cellphone video shot by the passenger in the car captures what happens next.

The officer is seen on top of Lyoya, pinning him face down on the ground while shouting “drop the taser” at the Black man.

The officer is seen on top of Patrick Lyoya and firing one shot into his head (Grand Rapids Police Department)

Seconds later, the officer then pulls out his firearm and shoots Lyoya in the head at close range. Lyoya’s body goes limp.

The struggle lasted around 90 seconds. No weapons besides the officer’s gun and taser were found at the scene.

Police Chief Eric Winstrom said that the officer shot the Black man once in the head while his face was toward the ground.

It is not clear why the bodycam stopped working during the struggle.

The police chief said at a press conference on Wednesday that the department was releasing the footage in the interest of transparency.

He described the incident as “a tragedy” and said watching the footage was “a progression of sadness for me”.

The police have refused to name the officer, saying only that he had been on the force for seven years and had been placed on paid leave.

Michigan State Police is leading the criminal investigation into the shooting with part of the probe exploring whether Lyoya understood the orders from the officer.

The death of Lyoya is the latest in a long line of police killings of Black people in America, coming almost two years on from the murder of George Floyd which sent shockwaves across the globe and sparked protests demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism.