At the forum, community members demand changes after Lyoya’s death

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Residents of Grand Rapids gathered inside the auditorium of Ottawa Hills High School Thursday night, demanding answers after Patrick Lyoya was killed by a Grand Rapids police officer .

The event occurred one day after the police released pictures of the April 4 traffic stop that ended with the officer shooting and killing Lyoya.

Third Ward Commissioners Nathaniel Moody and Senita Lenear led the community conversation in partnership with several groups, including the Black Impact Collaborative, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Grand Rapids Public Library, Mental Health Clinicians of Color in Grand Rapids and Brigham Consulting.

“People are hurting right now, and rightfully so,” Lenear told News 8 in a preview interview. “Parents worry about their children, and spouses worry about their spouses and the list goes on and on.”

For a conversation with 3rd Ward Commissioner Senita Lenear, watch the video in the player below.

For more than two hours, community members raised their voices with city leaders.

“I want to know what’s going on!” Grand Rapids resident Sandy Beurkens said. “I’m just so mad about it. It’s heartbreaking that they’re doing this in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“I want answers,” Beurkens said. “I want to know what they are going to do in the future with police training.”

Another resident repeated that he wanted answers.

“We want answers,” Grand Rapids resident Kristen Earvin told News 8. “We have a lot of questions. I don’t feel comfortable with what happened in our city. know what will be done about it.

Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and City Manager Mark Washington were among the crowd.

City Attorney Anita Hitchcock and 3rd Ward Commissioners Moody and Lenear were on the panel facing questions from the community.

“Our community is hurting right now,” Moody said. “With the events that have unfolded, it is tragic. We want to address the trauma that is taking place in our community.

Nadia Brigham, who has spent decades fighting for racial equity, was also on the panel.

“We can’t go back seven or ten days and bring our brother back,” Brigham told the crowd. “What we can do is decide today not to date, not to judge each other.”

The purpose of the event, Brigham said, was to begin the healing process by talking to each other.

“These things happen to us, and we’re supposed to get over them quickly to heal them,” she said. “And part of the healing process is recognition, isn’t it?”

“We need spaces where we can recognize and talk about healing,” she added. “Talking is the first step. Then we need to strategize and take action.

For a conversation with Alpha Omega Ministries Senior Pastor Kenneth W. Hoskins, watch the video in the player below.

Brigham said people of all races should recognize how black people are treated in Michigan and beyond.

“We need to recognize that pain and trauma exists for black and brown people in this community and across this country and across this world every day,” she said.

Additionally, Brigham reminded crowd members that their journeys are different from each other. That’s why she said it’s important to listen to each other — to understand each other’s experiences without judging.

“I’m not passing judgment on you because I don’t know you,” Brigham told an immigrant who spoke Thursday night. “I don’t know what your background was as an immigrant. You don’t know what mine was as a black woman… we all have a journey. All of us. And everything must be recognized. »

Emotions were still running high more than 24 hours after the videos were released.

“I’m just sick of it,” Beurkens said. “I grew up in Grand Rapids all my life. I’m 80. And I didn’t know how the black community was treated any differently until my daughter married a black man.

Kevin Earvin, another Grand Rapids resident who attended the community conversation, said Lyoya’s death was “hurtful and sad.”

“They came from a country at war,” Earvin said. “They came here to save (their) family and have (their) son killed.”

“It’s just sad,” he added. “It makes me cry. You don’t know what they’re going to do when they arrest you.

Mental health professionals were on hand to help those struggling.

“We want to make sure the community can get the care they need as we all grapple with the events that have taken place,” Moody said.

“That’s what it’s about tonight,” he added. “Responding to the fact that everyone is suffering.”

– News 8’s Luke Laster contributed to this report.