GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) -- The results of an independent autopsy on the man who was shot by a Grand Rapids police officer earlier this month were released on Tuesday.
Civil rights and personal injury attorneys, Ben Crump and Ven Johnson, revealed the findings of Patrick Lyoya's autopsy performed by forensic pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz.
Lyoya was pulled over for a traffic stop on Monday, April 4, over vehicle registration, which then escalated into a struggle where the officer and 26-year-old Lyoya were on the ground. The officer eventually shot Lyoya in the back of the head while he was on top of him and he was face down on the ground.
“The Grand Rapids Police Department and the officer who pulled the trigger that killed our client, must be held accountable,” said Johnson. “This isn’t the first case we’ve pursued against the City of Grand Rapids for the use of excessive force. The department continues to claim it will make changes to its use of force policy. Clearly, that hasn’t happened. This was a preventable homicide.”
Dr. Spitz concluded that Lyoya died as the result of a single gunshot wound that entered the back of his skull near the midline. He stated that the bullet traveled up and to the right side of his skull and lodged near his right temporal bone.
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“This independent autopsy report confirms what we all witnessed in the horrifying video footage–unarmed Patrick Lyoya was conscious until the bullet entered his head, instantly ending what could have been a long and fruitful life,” said Crump.
Dr. Spitz stated that Lyoya had a normal life expectancy -- estimated to be approximately 82-years-old.
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