Grand Rapids, MI – On April 22, 2022 Reverend Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, eulogized Patrick Lyoya at the Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids. National Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump and other dignitaries spoke to a packed 1,000-seat sanctuary for nearly 3 hours.
On April 4, 2022, Lyoya, a 26-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was killed by a white police officer during a traffic stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The unnamed officer pulled Lyoya over just after 8 a.m. after realizing that the license plate on the car he was driving didn’t match the vehicle. Lyoya was not armed, on the ground, in a struggle with the officer on top of him when he was shot in the back of the head.
Protesters have gathered daily in downtown Grand Rapids. On April 21, there was a mile long march to the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan where Lyoya’s parents reside.
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