Grand Rapids rallies to demand justice for Patrick Lyoya

Grand Rapids, MI – On the afternoon of Sunday, April 27, organizers with the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression (GRAARPR) rallied alongside community members on the steps of the Kent County Court House to demand justice for Patrick Lyoya, along with community control of the police.

A group of some 100 people gathered in anticipation of the trial of killer cop, Christopher Schurr, who murdered Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. The former GRPD officer killed 26-year-old Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, with a point blank shot to the back of the head, as Lyoya lay pinned face down beneath the officer.

In the three years since the murder, other community members have been killed at the hands of GRPD and Michigan State Police, including Samuel Sterling, Riley Doggett and Hank Wymer. Meanwhile, many of the local activists demanding justice on their behalf have faced harassment and various punitive repercussions from law enforcement.

Event emcee Sam Tunningley of the Grand Rapids Alliance talked about, “the harsh repression protesters faced in the wake of this murder and the trumped-up charges they’re still facing,” adding, “This family deserves better, our city deserves better and we must stand together behind this family and everyone committed to getting justice for Patrick.”

As if to perfectly illustrate and punctuate his point, on the morning of the trial’s start, Monday, April 28, one local activist was arrested by GRPD outside of the courthouse.

Local progressive politicians and clergy members also appeared at Sunday’s event to address the crowd.

Robert Womack, a Kent County commissioner, declared, “the Lyoya family deserves due process. They deserve to sit in a courtroom and find out what happened to Patrick Lyoya!”

Rev. Nathan Dannison of Fountain Street Church stated, “The police in our poorest neighborhoods are an occupying army, and they are very well armed. That is a tremendous amount of power that you are up against, but you have power out here – our community organizers are critical to this fight.”

Gesturing to the courthouse behind him, Dannison added, “We see you! We’re watching! And we won’t blink!”

Ivan Diaz, a former Kent County commissioner currently running for the 29th District in the Michigan State Senate, emphasized, “if it can happen to Patrick, it can happen to any of us.”

Diaz continued, “Even if we get a conviction, in the next couple of weeks, in the next couple of months, it won’t be enough. Until we change the systems, we will always be at risk of having another Patrick, another Riley.”

Kodjovi Kpachavi of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, and member of the Black Alliance for Peace, asked the crowed, “What is to be done?” As if in answer to the day’s other speakers, he posits a demand for “community control of police,” which also constitutes one of GRAARPR’s primary aims during this period of struggle.

Kpachavi continued, “The community decides how public safety is achieved, which officers are hired and fired, who they are sending into our communities, and with what types of equipment and training – let us also be clear that we are making this demand as part of a larger effort to build dual power. That is, the organization of our communities to provide things that our government is increasingly unwilling to provide: safer streets, better education, housing, healthy foods, stable income, all the things we need to survive and to thrive.”

The event culminated in a march, during which demonstrators circled the nearby GRPD headquarters. The masses took to the streets, accompanied by the sound of drums and such chants as “black lives matter, blue lives murder!” and “GRPD, KKK, IOF, they’re all the same!”

“We have never, for a single second, forgotten about Patrick and we never will,” said Sam Tunningley of the Grand Rapids Alliance. “No matter how much they taunt us or try to silence us. Justice for Patrick!”

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #InJusticeSystem #PoliceCrimes #PoliceBrutality #KillerCops #NAARPR #

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/grand-rapids-rallies-to-demand-justice-for-patrick-lyoya?pk_campaign=rss-feed