DETROIT - Patrick Lyoya, a father of two small children, was snatched away from his family forever. That will not change no matter the outcome of the trial of the former Grand Rapids police officer, Christopher Schurr, who killed Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant. While a jury will decide the officer’s fate, it will not change the systemically flawed policing practices largely still in place at the Grand Rapids Police Department that claimed Mr. Lyoya’s life. And it will not eliminate similarly flawed police practices across Michigan and America that result in disproportionate police killings of Black men. The question that must be confronted by Grand Rapids and law enforcement agencies for all communities is: How can we avoid placing officers and the communities they serve in situations where there is a high probability of violence? True accountability means a commitment to real and lasting policing reform - a commitment evidenced by no more lives lost.
STATEMENT
TAKING ACTION AND SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES UNDER ATTACK.