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House Dems renew call for police reform in aftermath of Breonna Taylor grand jury decision
Michigan Reps. Tenisha Yancey (D-Harper Woods), Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit), Cynthia Johnson (D-Detroit), and Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) Thursday renewed their call to end qualified immunity when applied to law enforcement excessive force cases. “Unfortunately, some officers have abused this protection, using it as an impenetrable shield to escape justice when they commit heinous acts,” Yancey […]
In wake of Lyoya’s death, a reckoning with Grand Rapids’ history of police brutality
The day before Grand Rapids officials released the video of Grand Rapids Police Department Officer Christopher Schurr shooting and killing Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old unarmed Black man, police began erecting concrete barricades around the department’s headquarters in downtown Grand Rapids. The barriers, a police spokeswoman said at the time, were a “precaution” as police prepared […]
‘This was a human rights issue’: Over 1,000 people gather to mourn Lyoya, call for justice
A packed church of more than 1,000 people from across the world on Friday mourned and celebrated the life of Patrick Lyoya with prayers, song and a call for justice. “I come here today to … tell you this can not end today,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy at Lyoya’s funeral […]
Independent autopsy shows Lyoya was shot by officer, gun was likely pressed to his head
Attorneys for the Patrick Lyoya family released Tuesday the findings of an independent autopsy performed by a world-renowned forensic pathology expert, Werner Spitz. Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black man, was fatally shot in the back of the head by a white Grand Rapids police officer on April 4. The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) released […]
‘A moment that feels all too sickeningly familiar’
After the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) released Wednesday several videos showing an unnamed officer fatally shooting Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black immigrant, on April 4, state leaders and activists have shared their condolences and calls for change. “Patrick Lyoya immigrated to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to pursue the […]
‘My heart couldn’t take it’: Two years into the pandemic in Michigan, a focus on healing
Molly Nixon’s heart couldn’t take it anymore. The day she decided to leave her job as a nurse at Mercy Health in Muskegon, she dissolved into tears because she knew the three COVID-19 patients she was caring for that day were going to die. “I’d briefly met my three patients, and there was the realization […]
Column: Today’s ‘civil war’ is an attack on the rule of law
There is a civil war underway in America. It’s not the same sort of war we fought more than 150 years ago, when Americans took sides on whether slavery was good or evil, donned blue and gray uniforms, then slaughtered each other on the battlefield. This is a war that’s happening in slow-motion, a largely […]
‘A celebratory movement’: Detroiters advocate for reparations ballot proposal
When Todd Perkins thinks of reparations for systemic racial discrimination in Detroit, he dreams not just of atonement, but of hope. The Detroit attorney, who has long been pushing for reparations in the city where he grew up, dreams of a chance to finally acknowledge the pain that runs deep amidst institutional racism, from housing […]
State House members offer ‘Justice for All’ police reform package
State Reps. Tenisha Yancey (D-Harper Woods), Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), and Felicia Brabec (D-Pittsfield) on Tuesday unveiled a plan to fight police misconduct. “Each and every person who lost their life at the hands of the police was a human being who deserved to be respected and protected,” said Yancey who previously worked as an assistant […]
Bipartisan police reforms win broad support at Senate hearing
A package of bipartisan police reform bills received the backing of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, a retired police detective, a civil rights lawyer and others during a state Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing on Thursday. The bills would create guidelines for investigations into officer-involved deaths, limit no-knock warrants and boost support for de-escalation […]