Videos of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lioya, a black man who was stopped to stop traffic, were released on Wednesday. 26-year-old Lioja was shot and killed on April 4 by a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after a fight in which the two men seem to be fighting over the police officer’s camp.
The videos released by the Grand Rapids Police Department include a police officer’s camera, the dashboard of the officer’s car, a video of surveillance from the house across the street and a video from a mobile phone taken by a passenger in the car.
The moments just before the shooting are difficult to distinguish, as the camera worn on the body was deactivated, the video for surveillance was from a considerable distance and the mobile phone was often aimed at the ground instead of the policeman and Lioya. However, it seems that the two men are fighting for the officer’s tazer at certain points in the videos.
Still image from a mobile phone video taken before the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lioya. Grand Rapids Police Department
In the videos, the policeman, who is White, pulls Lioya to drive with inappropriate plates. Leia gets out of her car and the unidentified police officer immediately tells him to stay in the car. Lioja stays out of the car and closes the door. The policeman asked several times if Leia spoke English and about her license. Lioya tells him that the book is in the car. The officer then instructed Lioya to take it.
Lioja then seems to be asking a passenger for a license, but the passenger does not seem to know where he is. As Lioja tries to get to the passenger side of the car, the officer tells him to stop and grabs him. After a short struggle, Lioja manages to free herself and follows a foot chase. The officer fights with Lioja on a nearby lawn and the two fight on the ground for a long time, while the officer repeatedly tells Lioja to stop. The officer seems to briefly subdue Lioja and the two stand up, but then the fight continues.
At one point, although it is not clear when exactly due to the close proximity of the battle and the poor quality of the surveillance camera on the other side of the street, the policeman pulled out his Taser. He could be heard shooting twice, but according to Cider Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom, Taser missed Lioja both times. The two continue to fight, and at times it seems that they both have their hands on the weapon. The two men fall to the ground again as the officer repeatedly tells Lioya to release the taser. At one point, the passenger can be heard saying that Lioja is not touching Taser.
With Lioya facing the ground, the officer manages to climb onto it. The officer, still telling Lioya to release the electric shock, pulled out his pistol and shot Lioya in the head.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon to review the videos, Winstrom said the body’s camera had been deactivated because the button that controlled the recording function had been pressed for more than three seconds during the fight. Winstrom said he estimated based on the video that the two men fought for Taser for approximately 90 seconds.
The employee is currently on paid leave while the Michigan State Police is investigating the shooting. Winstrom said the officer would not be identified unless he was charged with a crime.
During the press conference, Winstrom repeatedly refused to make any definite statements about whether he believes that the shooting was justified or if any of the actions of the police officer may have violated the policy of the department. He said these decisions would be made by the state police investigation.
“I see this as a tragedy,” he said.
Lawyer Ben Crump, who represents Lioja’s family, said in a statement after the press conference that “the video clearly shows that this is an unnecessary, excessive and fatal use of force against an unarmed black man who was confused by the meeting and terrified of his life.”
Police reform and racial justice
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