So I just watched the full Patrick Lyoya video on YouTube. To say that it was disturbing is an understatement. As I was watching it, I had to ask myself, Why do they keep killing us? The answer I came up with is this; they kill us because they don’t see us as being fully human. They never have. When a white police officer and even some Black police officers encounters a Black person, they already have a preconceived notion that we are dangerous, predatory individuals with intent to do them harm. We are all thugs and animals to them, regardless of how we present ourselves. The problem isn’t training; the problem is the MINDSET of most police officers against people of color. How many times have we heard recordings of officers using racial slurs, against Black people, or stating how they’re going to shoot at the first opportunity? Consider the rants of James Gilmore, Kevin Piner and Jesse Moore, who made statements about “killing fucking n*ggers, and wiping them off the face of the earth”, and then claimed it was just work stress. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident; a cursory Google search will pull up ALL KINDS of incidents like this. And while many officers may not be as over the top with their racism as these guys, you can bet that this is a prevailing attitude in MANY police departments, especially those that are predominantly white or located in Southern states.
Year after year, week after week, this just keep happening. Sometimes they’re held accountable, but oftentimes they’re not. And so the cycle of police violence just continues against people of color, Blacks in particular, as it has been since the inception of the police, which started with the slave patrols.
As I viewed this latest incident of police violence against a Black man, I tried to dissect just what happened. What I’m about to write next is my opinion, from my perspective. I’m going to try and be objective, and not let my personal feelings inform my writing.
First off, let me state clearly that I understand why Patrick Lyoya was pulled over. You CANNOT ride around in a vehicle with the wrong tags. This is a sure fire way to attract unwanted police attention! The next thing Mr. Lyoya did wrong was he GOT OUT OF THE CAR. Now I understand that Mr. Lyoya was an immigrant; perhaps where he’s from, that’s normal. We don’t know what was going through Mr.Lyoya’s mind, but SOMEONE should have informed him that you NEVER get out of the car when pulled over by police. The next thing, of course, is that Mr. Lyoya ran and then struggled with the officer, reaching for his taser. Again, we don’t know why he did this. If I had to guess, I would think that it was because he was scared, or maybe because he was illegal; I don’t know. What I do know is that Patrick Lyoya ended up shot in the head execution style.
Now at this point, they struggled, and the officer was able to get the upper hand. Mr. Lyoya ended up on the ground ON HIS STOMACH, with the officer’s knee in his back. From my perspective watching the video, the officer has control. He was on top of Lyoya, knee in his back, and Mr. Lyoya really couldn’t do anything but squirm. The officer kept screaming “Let go of the taser!” Mr. Lyoya’s friend could be heard in the background saying “He ain’t got no taser!” It’s at this point that the officer pulls his gun out, and then proceeds to summarily shoot Patrick Lyoya in the head, thereby executing him.
So here is the question. Did the officer need to shoot Patrick Lyoya? And why in the back of the head? He had Mr. Lyoya on the ground, subdued already. Yes, Patrick Lyoya was still struggling a little, but he was clearly pinned. He wasn’t going anywhere. There were other options that the officer could have exercised besides TAKING PATRICK LYOYA’S LIFE! He could’ve used his baton to subdue Mr. Lyoya. He could’ve snatched the taser and tased him. He could’ve used his pepper spray. He could’ve even used his FISTS. He could’ve used ANY MEANS NECESSARY short of DRAWING HIS GUN to subdue Patrick Lyoya and get the cuffs on him. Instead, the officer chose to pull his gun and shoot an unarmed man who was clearly terrified in the back of the head, execution style.
Why? Why would he do this? As I stated at the beginning of this piece, the only LOGICAL explanation is that this officer, like so many of his police brethren, didn’t think of Patrick Lyoya as a human being with people who loved him. He thought of him as something subhuman, and when he got tired of struggling, he reached for his gun and put him down like a dog! And for that, I say this officer needs to be prosecuted to the FULLEST extent of the law. He needs to be shown the same compassion and mercy that he showed Patrick Lyoya. Time will tell if this officer will receive justice, or if he will get off like so many before him. But one thing is for sure; until something is done about THE TYPE of individuals that are hired by the police departments across America, until there is a training of the MINDSETS of police officers, this will keep happening.
Personally, I think one of the biggest issues with American policing is that the police aren’t from the community of the people they’re policing. They can’t effectively police people of color because they know NOTHING about people of color. If the police department employs predominantly WHITE officers to police predominantly BLACK neighborhoods, this will keep happening. Instead of investing in the militarization of police departments, they should be investing in diversity training, diversity hires and recruitment. If a neighborhood is predominantly Black, then at least 60% of the officers should be Black, and from that neighborhood. The answer is not to DEFUND the police, but to change how the funds are allocated.
As for Patrick Lyoya, my heart goes out to his family. There is absolutely NOTHING he did that should have resulted in his death. I pray that justice is served, and that the officer is held accountable for his horrible decision that he made on that day.
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