Patrick Lyoya: Protests continue in Grand Rapids over fatal police shooting of Black man, Protesters have held several rallies in downtown Grand Rapids
Protesters marched through downtown Grand Rapids chanting and at times blocking traffic Friday evening, demanding accountability for the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya.
“Unless we all come together as people who love other people and human beings, what happened to Patrick in Grand Rapids is going to happen to somebody in another city,” a protester named Dennis Boatwright stated.
“The common people need to come out and hold our society accountable for holding racist views,” Boatwright continued.
The Grand Rapids officer pulled Lyoya over because his license plate didn’t match his car, according to police. Lyoya got out of the car and began to leave the scene during the exchange, video released by the city’s police department on Wednesday showed.
After a brief foot chase, the officer grabbed Lyoya and the two grappled for about two and a half minutes, eventually struggling over the cop’s Taser. The officer shot Lyoya once in the head, killing him, according to Grand Rapids police.
“We want equal justice. We want police held accountable,” a protester shouted as she marched downtown.
Boatwright said “the police officer that killed Patrick, he should be charged.”
A protester named Jackie said she wants “justice for Patrick,” and “more training for police officers.”
“There should be social workers. They should have to take racism classes,” Jackie continued. “Did the officer pull him over? Or did the officer just follow him to his destination and run his plates for no reason? Why would a simple plate violation result in execution? The police need a reality check.”
