Patrick Lyoya fled Congo to escape war. A traffic stop in Michigan cost him his life

Despite the protests that followed, the killings of Black men by police did not end with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others in 2020.  Black immigrants are not immune to police violence.   NPR has a powerfully sad story of a refugee from the Congo killed by police:

“Patrick Lyoya fled Congo to escape persecution. A police killing cut short his hope for a better life. Harrowing video footage showed a Michigan police officer shooting the 26-year-old Black man in the back of the head as he lay facedown on the ground, following a struggle during a traffic stop. The case almost immediately spawned protests, and represented, to many, the wide gulf that remains in achieving racial justice. But to those who knew Lyoya, he is not a symbol. He was a son, brother, father — a person of faith who seemed to have finally found a safe haven in Grand Rapids after a childhood inextricably shaped by war.“

Earlier this week, CBS News reported that an autopsy confirmed that “Patrick Lyoya was shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer while face down on the ground, lawyers for the Black man’s family . . . . The finding by a former Detroit-area medical examiner matches what was seen last week on video released by the Grand Rapids police chief.”

KJ