Police violence in the USA: Black (26) shot at traffic control

Created: 04/14/2022, 09:08

Victim Patrick L. fleeing a US police officer in Grand Rapids.

© Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press/AP/dpa

A white police officer shot and killed a black man during a traffic stop in the US state of Michigan.

The violent death triggers protests.

Grand Rapids/Washington – A deadly police operation in the USA causes outrage.

A 26-year-old died violently.

Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan released several videos from the April 4 police operation.

USA: Traffic control in the state of Michigan escalated

A white police officer stopped Patrick Lyoya (26) in his car that day - because of an irregularity with the license plate.

The course of the scenes can be seen on various video recordings.

They come from the police officer's body camera and the camera in his car, as well as from the surveillance camera of an adjacent house and the passenger's cell phone camera. 

The policeman therefore first asked Lyoya for his driver's license.

After a brief conversation, the 26-year-old tried to move away.

The officer ran after him and threw him to the ground in an adjacent front yard.

A lengthy scuffle ensued, during which the officer initially used his taser, but Lyoya fought this off.

In the end, while Lyoya was lying on the ground beneath him, the police officer drew his gun and shot him in the back of the head.

USA: Black man dies in police operation

Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom called it a "tragedy."

"The loss of a life is sad under any circumstance and I know it will have an impact on our city," he said.

The police officer who fired the fatal shot is currently on leave.

A police investigation is underway to determine whether criminal charges will be filed.

USA: Protests against police violence

After the death of the young African American, there have been protests in the city of Grand Rapids.

In the center of the city of 200,000, dozens of demonstrators gathered on Wednesday evening (local time) with banners that read “Black Lives Matter*” (The lives of black people count).

Some of the protesters shouted, "No justice, no peace."

Deadly police operation in the USA: activists demonstrate for Patrick Lyoya.

© Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press/dpa

Police violence in the USA: memories of George Floyd

Almost two years ago, the agonizing death of the African American George Floyd * captured on a cell phone video during a police operation in Minneapolis caused international outrage and triggered nationwide protests against racism and police violence in the United States.

The white police officer Derek Chauvin had the black man – arrested because of an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill – pressed his knee on the neck for around nine and a half minutes, although the 46-year-old repeatedly complained that he could not breathe.

Floyd's "I can't breathe" lawsuit went around the world and became a motto of the anti-racism movement Black Lives Matter.