Patrick Lyoya Shooting by Grand Rapids Police Officer

Shooting someone in the back of the head while they are on the ground isn't justifiable anyway you rationalize it.

 

I agree with you - the car may have been stolen and involved in another crime. The officer chasing him on foot and getting him to the ground isn't an issue.

The question is why did the officer feel the need to shoot him. The guy reaching for his taser seems weak - was he unable to restrain him long enough for another cop to arrive?

 

He wasn't trigger happy. The officer escalated his level of force properly instead of going straight for lethal firearms.

No backup is definitely a problem. Only way to fix that is with more officers.

If you're making the policy to let suspects go to avoid dangerous situations, you're responsible for everything the suspect does at that point. Are you sure you want that?

 

in hindsight, of course youre right. but i think the cop will be able to make the argument that lethal force was necessary. the bodycam clearly shows lyoya repeatedly grabbing for his taser.

im not the type to defend cops no matter what. im also not the type who says that there is never justification for police to use lethal force. i think each incident should be looked at on its own and in this case i think there might be justification for the cops actions.

if police make it a policy to never pursue suspects who run then that would just incentivize suspects and actual criminals to run every time. i think it would be a bad idea.

 

Why chase him though? He has no back up. The individual has someone else in the car. Is it a smart decision to actually chase the guy? He has another suspect in the car if he is concerned that the car is involved in some crime. Why not let that buddy run off, call for immediate back-up due to the situation, and hold the other suspect while you get the situation straightened out.

Reaching for his taser may seem weak to you, but it does give him some possibly grounds to shoot the victim. If he reaches for the taser and gets the cop, then what? What if the suspect loses his mind and grabs the cops gun? Granted, I know **** about tasers, can you re-engage them if they been engaged already?

 

i didnt even think about it till this post, but its very odd that there was no backup. that cop was solo. i guess covid has them understaffed?

that guy would probably still be alive if there had been a 2nd cop who could have helped subdue him.

 

Lyoya had full possession of the taser when the officer unholstered his firearm. If a suspect has a taser, then an officer has to escalate to deadly force.

And clearly, the officer could not restrain Lyoya alone.

 

I would be a willing participant as a City for x amount of years to be part of a study to see if this is the best way to approach the situation. Current approach doesn't work for me.

 

My limited research, and please do correct me if I'm wrong since I really have no knowledge of tasers, is that once fired you cannot refire the taser. If that's the case, and the officer was aware he had already fired the taser, then why was he afraid for his life?

 

Some tasers have multiple cartridges. I've heard up to 3 sets of darts. After the cartridges have been expended, you can still use the taser to stun with direct contact. Lyoya could have stunned the officer and stolen his firearm.

 

Understood.

I can understand why he felt justified to shoot the suspect if this is the case, I just don't think it had to get to this point. Without other back-up though, I get why he felt he had to shoot. It doesn't mean I agree with it, but I won't repeat what I already stated in this thread.

 

I think the cop escalated his level of force properly to the potential threat.

Now personally, I don't think Lyoya was aggressive towards the cop. Lyoya acted like he was resisting to get away and grabbed the taser to prevent harm to himself. But as a cop, you don't know the suspect's intentions.

 

He's on his stomach, how can he even use his taser? Sounds very fuzzy to me. Oh well, this is why they have courts to sort this stuff out.

 

I don't know to be honest.

Just seems to me if that you have someone subdued with a knee on their back, the taser is not a huge threat is it? If he has a free hand to grab his gun and put it to the back of his head and fire, seems to me that he had control of the guy and it wasn't necessary to fire just yet. But I'm not an expert on how to deal with this type of situation so can't really have a strong opinion on way or the other.

 

Oh it’s a black guy trying to grab the white cops weapon. I see why this was posted. Sorry, black or white he probably ends up dead just the same. I know thats not the narrative many here want to push.

 

Why is there always a narrative being pushed? The suspect was non-compliant, aggressive, and attempted to flee. He should have stayed in the car like most rational people would do in this situation. Sounds like he also may have been high on something going by his speech and lack of understanding. What the cop did was unpleasant to watch but justified IMO.

 

does this get posted if he is white? Or if the cop is black? Oh its definitely a narrative. Wouldn’t even be in the news otherwise.

 

Congrats... you were the first to introduce the race of the person being detained. Speaking of narratives...

 

Thats because I’m not afraid to call it what it is. The purpose of the thread is clear. I don't give a **** whether you admit it or not.

 

Why does what keep happening?