HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – The independent autopsy was done this past Saturday (April 16) on 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya. The results only confirm what we have all seen unfold on video.
It’s been concluded that Lyoya died from a single gunshot wound that went through the back of his skull near the midline, at point-blank range.
“Confirming a lot of what his family said from the first day,” said family Attorney Ben Crump. “That, he was killed execution-style being shot in the back of the head even though he’s unarmed looking away from the officer at the time.”
Read: Flashpoint Interview: Ex-Detroit police chief, journalist talk Patrick Lyoya shooting
An anatomical diagram was shown, displaying Lyoya’s injuries. A human skull was also brought in to show the trajectory where exactly the bullet entered Lyoya’s skull and became lodged underneath the skin near his right temple. Forensic Pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz conducted the independent autopsy.
“Part of the bullet went through the skull and pushed the skin out,” said Dr. Spitz.
That graphic video seen in the video player above was shown once again, showing the police officer on top of Lyoya. Attorneys for the family, Crump, and Ven Johnson, are insisting the officer-involved escalated the simple misdemeanor traffic stop, turning it into an execution.
Crump believes it’s a case of driving while Black that led to Lyoya being pulled over in the first place.
“Seems to be that this officer was coming from an opposite direction,” Crump said. “So how do you know he has issues with his tag registration if you’re not even behind him where you can visually see the tag. So, in our community, we call that a classic DWB, driving while Black.”