GRAND RAPIDS, MI (AP)— Body camera footage of Patrick Lyoya’s fatal encounter with a Grand Rapids police officer shows a close-up view of an intense struggle, but the video goes dark 42 seconds before the officer shoots the Black man in the head.
It’s the latest in a handful of high-profile cases in which body cameras have somehow failed, leaving prosecutors and the public to rely on bystander video for a clearer picture of what happened.
One expert says that if it was an accident, it’s likely that vendors, who have been responsive to the technology’s limitations, will make changes to avoid such deactivations in the future.
Attorneys for Lyoya’s family are thankful his passenger, as well as doorbell video from a nearby home, recorded what happened.
