In the USA, a deadly police operation is causing protests again, in which a black man died violently. The young African American was only stopped because of an incorrect license plate.
A white US police officer pushed a black man face down during a traffic stop and then shot him in the back of the head. This emerges from four videos of the deadly incident in the past week, which the police published.
Patrick Lyoya, 26, was shot dead on April 4 after being stopped by a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. According to the police, the reason was that his number plate did not match his car.
Videos show police action
One of the videos that police released was taken by a person who was in the car with Lyoya. Traffic control got out of control right from the start. The footage showed Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, getting out of the car and the police officer asked him to get back in.
However, the 26-year-old tried to run away and got into a fight with the police officer on the lawn in front of a row of apartment buildings. He also wanted to get hold of his stun gun. The police officer said “Let go” several times and once during the argument told Lyoya to drop the taser.
Finally, the officer used his knee to pin him face down to the ground, then suddenly drew his service pistol and shot Lyoya in the back of the head at point-blank range.
“I see it as a tragedy,” said Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom. “The loss of a life is sad under any circumstances and I know it will have an impact on our city.” An investigation was opened and the officer was suspended.
Protests in front of City Hall
The incident had already led to new protests against police violence before the video was published. In the evening, more than 100 people marched to Grand Rapids City Hall and chanted slogans such as “Black lives matter.”
Almost two years ago, the agonizing death of African American George Floyd, recorded 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 alleged 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 Black Lives Matter anti-racism movement.
