My heart is heavy, John.

Today was the funeral for Patrick Lyoya – a man who was brutally executed by a police officer in Grand Rapids.

People at the funeral heard a moving eulogy from Rev. Al Sharpton and saw Patrick’s family and community come together to begin to heal from this tragedy.

This is a tough day for them – for all of us.

We can’t win real justice for Patrick’s family. Because “justice" would mean none of us knowing Patrick’s name. He’d still be alive, going about his day.

But we CAN do everything in our power to ensure that Patrick’s murderer never gets another chance to use his position to execute another Black man.

We created a petition to demand an independent prosecutor be appointed for this case – one that doesn’t work with the police department on the daily. Patrick’s killer must be named, fired, and charged.

Take a minute to sign on to that petition today, because your message will be sent DIRECTLY to local officials.

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Please read our email below to learn more about why packing on this pressure to leaders in Grand Rapids is so essential in this case.

Love and appreciate you,

Shaun

 

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John, video was just released yesterday showing a Grand Rapids cop brutally executing Patrick Lyoya after a minor traffic violation – and we need all hands on deck!!!

It’s a disgrace. A tragedy. The video shows the cop shooting Patrick in the back of the head while Patrick was on his stomach and the cop was on his back.

In cases like this, there must be an independent prosecutor appointed. The Kent County DA interacts with the Grand Rapids Police Department every day. It is a HUGE conflict of interest for the DA to be involved in this case in which one of the cops committed a murder.

Please sign our super-petition NOW to demand an independent prosecutor be appointed for this case. A DA who works with the same police department that murdered Patrick Lyoya should not be in charge.

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John, right now this cop is still walking around freely, out on PAID LEAVE.

THIS is why we fight to elect civil rights-minded prosecutors who will hold violent cops accountable.

THIS is why we fight against abuses of state power.

THIS is why we are changing the system from the inside out by replacing people like DA Chris Becker with good DAs who are committed to transformative justice.

District Attorneys are some of the ONLY positions who have the power to hold cops accountable – but they often work hand-in-hand with police departments to protect them and rig the system in their favor. It is designed that way.

Patrick Lyoya was a young father.

He was a sibling.

He was a son.

He was a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant living in America and was targeted by racist police.

The justice system is stacked against people who are fighting for accountability from law enforcement – like Patrick’s family.

We have to change this system, district by district, so that law enforcement do not live above the law, and so that families like Patrick’s can seek true accountability and dignity.

For now, please join us in calling for an independent prosecutor to be appointed. Your message will be sent DIRECTLY to local officials, and the more people who sign on, the more pressure we will build to make sure he does the right thing.

Once you’ve signed, please share this petition far and wide so we can keep building pressure to make sure this violent cop is held to full account with an independent prosecutor.

Thank you for taking action with us,

Real Justice

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