Patrick Lyoya
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) I wish that Patrick Lyoya was still alive.
The fatal interaction between a white Grand Rapids police officer and a black man began with non-compliance.
Officer Christopher Schurr had just pulled over a vehicle that had the wrong license plate. His body camera shows what happens next. “Get back in the car” are the first words Schurr says to the driver, Patrick Lyoya. He doesn’t. Three more times Lyoya is told to stay in his car. Instead he stands outside the drivers side door.
He’s asked if he has a drivers license. The passenger in the car reaches into the glove compartment.
When Lyoya begins to walk away, he’s told to stop. He doesn’t. Then the officer attempts to handcuff him. He is told “put your hands up”. He does not. Lyoya resists. He and the officer wrestle to the ground. Lyoya is told three times to “stop” and to “stop resisting,” and three times to “get your hands behind your back.” Instead he gets his hand on Officer Schurr’s taser. “Let go of the taser,” he is told, twice. Then, when Officer Schurr is unable to control Lyoya, he resorts to lethal force, killing him with his service weapon.
One of the speakers at a city council meeting said “a man was executed on the street for not having the right license plate.” Wrong. Breathtaking wrong. Patrick Lyoya is dead because, during an interaction with police, he was completely non-compliant.
There are not different rules for black people when interacting with police. Compliance with an officer’s commands is mandatory.
Earlier this month, Officer Schurr was charged with murder. A man is dead and an officer is charged because an officer’s legal, lawful instructions were ignored.
I hope a jury gets this right.
I’m Chris Conley.
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