By Canadian Press

Video: Michigan officer knelt on Black man, fatally shot him

Apr 13, 2022 | 12:55 PM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Video shows a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, kneeling on the back of a Black man before fatally shooting him.

Police released video from different sources Wednesday, nine days after Patrick Lyoya was killed during a traffic stop.

Video shows the 26-year-old Lyoya trying to run from the scene, and a violent struggle over the officer’s Taser.

Before the video was released, City Manager Mark Washington warned there would be “expressions of shock, of anger and of pain” among the public.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

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The new police chief in Michigan’s second-largest city is expected Wednesday to release video of the fatal shooting of a Black motorist by an officer.

Patrick Lyoya, 26, was shot April 4. Police said he fought with an officer after his car was stopped because of an issue with the license plate. No other details have been released. State police are investigating the shooting.

More than 100 people marched to Grand Rapids City Hall before a City Commission meeting Tuesday night, chanting “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace.”

Police Chief Eric Winstrom, who started his job March 7, said video from several sources would be released Wednesday afternoon. His decision preceded the protest.

“The video contains strong language as well as graphic images resulting in the loss of life. Viewer discretion is advised,” said Winstrom, a former high-ranking officer in Chicago.

He said he would “provide additional context to the footage” and explain the next steps.

Winstrom last week said he met Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya, and that they both cried.

“I get it as a father. … It’s just heart-wrenching,” the chief told WOOD-TV.

Kent County’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Stephen Cohle, said he completed the autopsy on the day of Lyoya’s death, but that toxicology results haven’t been completed. He said the full report would not be released until state police complete an investigation.

“This is the standard operating procedure,” Cohle said.

As in many U.S. cities, Grand Rapids police have been occasionally criticized over the use of force, particularly against Black people, who make up 18% of the population.

In November, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit over the practice of photographing and fingerprinting people who were never charged with a crime. Grand Rapids said the policy changed in 2015.

A downtown street has been designated Breonna Taylor Way, named for the Black woman and Grand Rapids native who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, during a botched drug raid in 2020.

The Associated Press