Care2 Update: County prosecutors have now charged the officer who point-blank executed Patrick Lyoya with second-degree murder. So far, his department have still refused to fired him, and the legal outcome remains unknown. Since Lyoya's death, his killer has continued to earn a government paycheck while suspended and on paid leave.
Patrick Lyoya, a 26 year old refugee from the Congo, had a full, bright future ahead of him. But like so many other victims of police brutality in the United States, his life was tragically cut short. Despite efforts by the Grand Rapids Police Department to reframe this incident as a tragic accident, Lyoya was killed execution style, with a gun placed directly on the back of his head. We cannot let Patrick's story simply fall out of the news cycle and fade into history, and we must call this death what it is: a violent murder. The officer responsible must be held accountable!
Sign now to demand the officer who committed this atrocity is fired and charged with murder!
Despite widespread calls for reform, police killings have not declined in the past few years. Between April 2021 and April 2022, over 1,000 people in the U.S. were shot and killed by police officers. Data has shown for decades that Black men are disproportionately likely to be stopped, brutalized, and killed by police officers compared to their white counterparts. If America is supposed to be the "land of the free," why are cops allowed to kill Black people without facing consequences?
Grand Rapids is no stranger to police brutality. Just five years ago, officers held innocent teenagers at gunpoint. A few months later, officers looking for a middle-aged woman handcuffed an 11-year old girl and held her at gunpoint. In the midst of the police brutality protests in the summer of 2020, an officer even shot a protester in the face with a gas canister. It is time the police in this community faced consequences for their actions, which can have deadly consequences.
Traffic stops should never end in the murder of a civilian. There is no excuse for this incident and we must not be silent while Lyoya's killer walks free! Black lives matter, and we must prove that they matter by holding this officer accountable for murder. Sign the petition now if you agree!
