13 things about Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Patrick Lyoya

Patrick Lyoya spent the last days of his life in Michigan, United States. His paternal uncle Joshua Kibezi Munonge is the head of the nonprofit organization African Community Kalamazoo.

BIOGRAPHY

Lyoya was a Congolese refugee. He was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Peter Lyoya and Dorcas Lyoya.

Patrick was the eldest of six children. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. When he was young, his father earned a living by selling Primus beer and clothes between Bukavu, DR Congo and Burundi and his mother helped.
2. He has two daughters.
3. He had three arrests related to stolen vehicles in Michigan and in each case, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
4. He had four traffic-related offenses in Michigan, including convictions for operating while intoxicated and driving on a suspended license.
5. In 2003, he, his parents and his five younger siblings fled to Malawi.
6. In 2014, he and his family moved from the DR Congo to the U.S. as refugees fleeing violence and lived in apartment complex in Lansing, Michigan.
7. In 2015, he moved from Lansing to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he lived with his girlfriend but he still often visited his family in Lansing.
8. In 2016, he filled out a court form, in which he misspelled both his apartment’s street name and his employer of one year.
9. In 2017, a police officer arrested him while he was highly intoxicated.
10. In 2018, he worked at a turkey processing plant but left after a co-worker stabbed him in the belly.
11. In 2019, his girlfriend gave birth to their first daughter.
12. In February 2022, his girlfriend gave birth to their second daughter.
13. In April 2022, he died at age 26.

TIMELINE

As a child, Lyoya lived in Dzaleka, the first refugee camp in Malawi. He was five years younger than Grand Rapids Police Department officer Christopher Schurr.

2014

• In June 2014, he and his mother signed the lease of their apartment in Lansing for $708 a month.

2015

• In August 2015, he was charged with driving while drunk but failed to appear at three subsequent hearings. 

2022

• On February 6, 2022, he turned 26.
• At 8:11 a.m. on April 4, 2022, Grand Rapids Police Department officer Christopher Schurr pulled him over a vehicle he was in for improper registration in Grand Rapids. They later fought over the officer’s Taser. Wayne Butler witnessed the struggle, which ended with the officer fatally shooting him in the head. After the shooting, Schurr was placed on paid leave and stripped of police powers pending investigation.
• On April 5, 2022, his family was given permission to transfer his body to a funeral home of their choosing. That day, his father told News 8 through interpreter Israel Siku that he was “a good kid,” “a smart kid” and “a hard worker.”
• Footage of his fatal shooting was not released by the Grand Rapids Police Department until April 13, 2022. Schurr’s identity was not released until April 25, 2022.