Suspect In Michigan Wrestles With Cop, Goes For His Taser, Gets Shot In The Back Of His Head

Grand Rapids — Amid public outcry for transparency, police in Grand Rapids released videos Wednesday that showed a White officer shooting a Black man following a struggle that ensued last week during a traffic stop.

In roughly 20 minutes of footage released by Grand Rapids police during a press conference, an officer, who has not been named, can be seen wrestling with 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya before firing his weapon into the back of Lyoya's head. The video appears to show Lyoya trying to gain control of the officer's stun gun during the struggle.

"Let go of the Taser," the officer can be heard shouting to Lyoya before firing the fatal shot and then calling for backup.

The confrontation occurred at 8:11 a.m. April 4 near the intersection of Griggs and Nelson on the southeast side of the city.

In the released video, the officer tells Lyoya he was pulled over because his license plate didn't match his vehicle. Lyoya was driving the vehicle and had a male passenger in the car.

During the stop, the video shows Lyoya exiting the vehicle before the officer approaches. The officer instructs him to get back into the car, asks for his license and if he speaks English, to which Lyoya replies yes. The family's native language is Swahili, said Israel Siku, an interpreter for the family.

The officer tells Lyoya the car isn't registered as Lyoya appears confused and dismissive. The officer asks for his driver's license.

Lyoya tells the officer his license is in the car, and he stands at the vehicle with the door open for nearly 30 seconds before closing the door. The officer shouts, "nope, nope" and tries to get Lyoya on the hood of the car the man was driving.

That's when the conflict begins, and Lyoya breaks free, runs around the car and into a nearby yard. The officer calls for backup, stating, "the individual is running," and a struggle ensues again in the front yard of a home adjacent to where Lyoya was pulled over.

As the officer continues to be unable to restrain Lyoya, he draws a stun gun.

At one point, Lyoya pushes the officer's stun gun toward the ground, and the officer's body camera deactivates. Other video shows the two wrestling until the officer, while on top of Lyoya, draws his weapon and fires into the back of Lyoya's head.

The passenger exits the vehicle during the struggle, recording with a cellphone, and tells the officer before Lyoya was fatally shot, "You hit him, too." The officer stands up after Lyoya was shot and orders the passenger to "get back."

The struggle over the stun gun lasted about 90 seconds, Grand Rapids police Chief Eric Winstrom said. The officer fired the stun gun twice, and Winstrom said both times it was fired into the ground. The body-worn camera was deactivated during the struggle because it was held down for three seconds, Winstrom added.