Mistrial declared in trial of ex-Michigan police officer who killed Congolese immigrant
Mistrial declared in trial of ex-Michigan police officer who killed Congolese immigrant
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Ex-Grand Rapids police officer goes on trial for murder
Christopher Schurr is being tried for murder in the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya, who was involved in a traffic stop that turned fatal in 2022.
Fox - 2 Detroit
A jury deliberated for around 20 hours before a Kent County judge declared a mistrial.
Both the prosecutor and lead defense attorney said the outcome is disappointing.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said he will take time before making a decision on trying the case again.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A judge declared a mistrial on May 8 after a west Michigan jury said it could not reach a verdict in the murder trial of a former police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in 2022.
Christopher Schurr, 34, was charged with one count of second-degree murder stemming from the April 2022 shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant. Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head after tackling him when Lyoya tried to flee a traffic stop in southeast Grand Rapids.
Schurr's attorneys had argued the former officer was acting in self defense, after Lyoya attempted to grab Schurr's Taser during the physical struggle. Prosecutors had argued Schurr used excessive force.
The mistrial was declared on the fourth day of deliberations. The jury had deliberated for about 20 hours before informing 17th Circuit Judge Christina Mims it could not reach a verdict.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker, who first charged Schurr in June 2022, said after the mistrial declaration he had not made an immediate decision on retrying the case. He told reporters that he spoke to jurors and considered their input on the case, although he did not divulge what that input was.
"This was not an easy case," Becker said. "This was not a simple case."
A decision on whether to try the case again would likely come in a matter of weeks, he said. Becker added that the Lyoya family is "extremely disappointed" by the mistrial.
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Lyoya family, attorneys react to mistrial declaration
Peter Lyoya – Patrick Lyoya's father – thanked the prosecution and activists he said have stood by his family.
'We're not going to be tired until when we get the justice for Patrick,' he said via the family's translator Israel Siku, during a news conference following the hearing.
Patrick Lyoya's mother, Dorcas Lyoya, said s she expected the former officer to apologize to the Lyoya family. Instead, she said it seemed like Schurr felt no remorse.
'It seemed like he only killed an animal. That's how he presented himself,' Dorcas Lyoya said in translated remarks.
Matt Borgula, Schurr's lead defense attorney, said Schurr is disappointed at the lack of resolution, but grateful he was not convicted.
"This is not 'winners and losers' in this case. Christopher Schurr never wanted to take a life," Borgula said. "I guarantee you he is the nicest man, and this is the most difficult thing he's ever had to deal with, that decision in that split second. We cannot declare victory, because there really is no winning here. A man died, and that is a very serious thing."
Borgula said jurors were leaning toward acquittal, but could not provide an exact split among the 12-person jury.
Ven Johnson – of the family's attorneys in a separate civil case brought against Schurr over Lyoya's death – encouraged Becker to seek a retrial of the criminal case. Johnson said Becker told the Lyoya family that he will weigh next steps and will inform the family of his decision before making it public.
During the trial, demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse in downtown Grand Rapids to await a verdict. Some stood in support of Schurr, waving 'thin blue line' flags that have emerged as a support symbol for law enforcement. Others chanted 'Justice for Patrick,' with one demonstrator waving a flag with the letters 'BLM,' an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement.
What happened to Patrick Lyoya?
On April 4, 2022, Lyoya was killed in a Grand Rapids neighborhood during a routine traffic stop after he struggled with an officer over a stun gun.
Videos of the incident, released by the Grand Rapids Police Department, showed Lyoya getting pulled over by the officer who said he ran the car's license plate and that it did not match the vehicle.
The footage shows Lyoya stepping out of the car and seemingly confused as the officer asks for a driver's license and orders him to get back inside the vehicle. Lyoya then attempts to walk away as the officer attempts to handcuff him.
Following a short foot chase, the two men ended on the lawn of a home where Lyoya attempted to block the officer from using his Taser, footage showed. The officer can be heard telling Lyoya to "stop" and to "let go of the Taser."
The officer then drew his gun while on top of Lyoya and fired one shot in the back of his head, according to the footage.
The officer was later identified as Schurr, who was fired shortly after the Kent County Prosecutor's Office charged him with second-degree murder in June 2022.
A forensic pathologist who performed an independent autopsy on Lyoya concluded that he was shot once by a gun that was held to the back of his head.
Lyoya's death sparked protests in Michigan and led to increased calls for police accountability. Following the shooting, the Grand Rapids Police Department implemented new policies including de-escalation training and created a policy dedicated to the 'sanctity of life.'
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Defense attorney says evidence shown during trial was 'irrelevant'
Throughout the trial, the jury was able to see footage of the shooting played numerous times and in different angles — from the moment Schurr exited his patrol car to the moments after he shot Lyoya. Jurors also heard from a series of witnesses, the bulk of whom were qualified as policing experts, but also from eyewitnesses, investigators, police officers who responded to the scene of the shooting and Schurr himself.
Much of the testimony focused on the Taser, which defense lawyers argued Lyoya had gained possession of from Schurr. Once Schurr believed Lyoya had control of the Taser, he was within his rights to use deadly force and shoot Lyoya, policing experts called by the defense testified.
The prosecution focused large parts of its case around Schurr's training with the Grand Rapids Police Department, where he had joined as a recruit in 2015. Policing expert witnesses called by the prosecution said Schurr acted improperly by chasing Lyoya on foot after he tried to flee the traffic stop.
Borgula said the case was bogged down by too much information.
"I think there was a lot of evidence at this trial that was irrelevant, and that shouldn't have come in," Borgula said following the mistrial declaration.
Contributing: Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press; Reuters
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