Michigan moves to block release of some driving records after media uses them in Patrick Lyoya's death: report

On Friday, the Detroit Free Pressreported that Michigan is moving to change its policies on the release of driving records of violence victims, after some media outlets allegedly used those records to imply that there may have been some justification to the police killing of Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids.

"Driving records and other motor vehicle records are routinely obtained by members of the news media and members of some other industries, such as insurance companies," reported Paul Egan. "But Tracy Wimmer, a spokeswoman for the department, said the state has discretion and the law says it 'may release' such information, not that it must."

"In a news release, the Department of State, which is headed by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, said its sudden policy change was related to the police killing in Grand Rapids last week of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old unarmed Black man, during a traffic stop. The police shooting is under investigation by the Michigan State Police," said the report. "The unsigned news release said the state agency had provided Lyoya's driving record to three unidentified media outlets 'before recognizing that it was being included as an irrelevant detail that wrongly suggests he is culpable for being shot in the back of the head by a Grand Rapids police officer.'"

Detroit Free Press editor Peter Bhatia, however, has expressed concern with the decision as a hindrance to press freedom.

"While we acknowledge that some may see the publication of such information as inflammatory, and cite press reports after the killings of other Black men by police officers, we saw the license revocation as important context given the sequence of events in Grand Rapids and that the encounter between Lyoya and the officer deteriorated quickly after the officer asked for Lyoya's license," said Bhatia. "Our intention was purely journalistic."

Lyoya, a Congolese refugee, was seen on video footage being pinned to the ground on his back by an officer's leg when he was fatally shot. The incident has triggered protests in Grand Rapids, and has been exacerbated by the fact that police still won't release the name of the officer behind the shooting, who is reportedly on paid leave.