Grand Rapids Officer Charged With the Murder of Patrick Lyoya

On Thursday former officer Christopher Schuff of Grand Rapids, Michigan was charged with the murder of Patrick Lyoya. Lyoya was shot in the head by Schuff on April 4th after being pulled over for a traffic stop. There seemed to be a language barrier between the officer and Lyoya which caused the young man to become afraid and confused.

He and his family moved to America from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014 as refugees and their first language is Swahili.

Evidence convicting Schuff of the murder has been present since day one because Lyoya’s murder was caught on camera. The initial scene of Schuff trying to tase Lyoya after running away from the scene was recorded with the officer’s body cam before being deactivated. Lyoya’s friend who was in the car with him then videotaped the rest of the altercation, including the shot that killed the young man.

Since the April 4th murder, many protesters and communities members began demanding justice for Lyoya. Lyoya’s death is an example of police brutality. 

Over the course of the past two months, this case has been handled by Michigan State Police before returning their findings to the Kent County Court for the potential charges to be filed. It wasn’t until yesterday morning that Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker decided to hold a press conference and indict Schuff of murder in the second-degree of Patrick Lyoya.

Photo: Detroit Free Press