NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Protesters outside the Grand Rapid Police Department demanded justice for Patrick Lyoya and his family on Thursday after a video showed an officer fatally shooting the 26-year-old Congolese refugee.
“I’m angry, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I’m shaking, traumatized,” Lyoya’s cousin, Jimmy Barwan, told Fox News.
Lyoya’s kids have to “get their own justice,” he said.
WATCH THE PROTEST:
MICHIGAN OFFICER WHO SHOT AND KILLED PATRICK LYOYA SHOULD BE PROSECUTED, ATTORNEY BEN CRUMP SAYS
The Grand Rapids officer pulled Lyoya over because his license plate didn’t match his car. Lyoya got out of the car and began to leave the scene during the exchange, video released by the city’s police department on Wednesday showed.
Lyoya’s cousin, Jimmy Barwan
(Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)
After a brief foot chase, the officer grabbed Lyoya and the two grappled for about two and a half minutes, eventually struggling over the cop’s Taser. The officer shot Lyoya once in the head, killing him, according to Grand Rapids police.
Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was shot and killed by an officer on April 4. (Grand Rapids Police Department)
(Grand Rapids Police Department)
Protesters have gathered several times since the shooting and have said they would continue until they see justice for Lyoya’s family.
“You can not bring Patrick back,” a friend of Lyoya’s, Lyon, told Fox News. “But we heard what his family wants.”
After struggling over a Taser, the officer pulled his handgun and shot Patrick Lyoya once in the head. (Grand Rapids Police Department)
(Grand Rapids Police Department)
“They want to see the officer that killed Patrick get charged,” he said.
Grand Rapids Police Department seen barricaded on Thursday, April 14
(Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“He didn’t deserve to die, and that’s just the end of story,” one protester told Fox News.
Another similarly said: “Patrick did not deserve to die. That was an execution. Arrest that cop, convict that killer.”
Barwan, who described Lyoya as his brother and superhero, pleaded for people to continue speaking out for his family member.
“I’m asking for people not stop because not only are they speaking up for my brother, but they’re speaking up for all of us,” he told Fox News.
