GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Rev. Al Sharpton, a nationally renowned civil rights activist, Baptist minister and talk show host, gave a eulogy at the funeral ceremony of Patrick Lyoya Friday afternoon.
Sharpton has worked closely with attorney Ben Crump, who is now retained by the Lyoya family. The pair worked together recently in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery.
Sharpton vowed to support the Lyoya family with funeral assistance and traveled to Grand Rapids Friday for the ceremony at Renaissance Church of God in Christ.
During his remarks, Sharpton demanded authorities release the name of the GRPD officer who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya.
"Every time a young black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put the name all over the news," Sharpton said.
"How dare you hold the name of the man who killed this man. We want his name! I'm not going to desecrate the name of the local authorities, but I want to call on the federal Justice Department. We need the Justice Department to investigate his death."
Grand Rapids Police and the Michigan State Police have not identified the officer involved despite requests by 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
The Michigan State Police is the lead agency investigating the shooting. Once the case is complete, they will hand over their findings to the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office, which will determine what’s next.
Watch The Rev. Al Sharpton's entire remarks here:
Lyoya, 26, was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids Police officer earlier this month during a traffic stop.
Authorities said a GRPD officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle with a faulty license plate. Lyoya, who was driving the vehicle, fled from police on foot.
After a physical struggle with the officer, Lyoya was shot and killed.
Independent autopsy results showed that Lyoya was killed by a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
GRPD released the footage of the incident, including video from a body-worn camera, a police dash camera, a neighbor's surveillance system and cell phone video from a witness.
The release of the videos came after a week and a half of demands from the family and community.
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