Michigan officer charged with murder in Lyoya shooting
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. >> A prosecutor filed a seconddegree murder charge Thursday against the Michigan police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head following an intense physical struggle recorded on a bystander's phone.
Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker announced his decision against Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr, who killed Lyoya minutes after a traffic stop on April 4. Video from a passenger in the vehicle captured the final chilling moments.
Schurr fired the fatal shot while Lyoya was on the ground, demanding that the 26-year-old refugee from Congo “let go” of the officer's Taser.
“The death was not justified or excused, for example, by self defense,” the prosecutor said, reciting the elements of second-degree murder.
Schurr, who is white, told Lyoya that he stopped his car because the license plate didn't match the vehicle. Roughly a minute later, Lyoya began to run after he was asked to produce a driver's license.
Schurr caught him quickly, and the two struggled across a front lawn before the fatal shot.
Becker said he consulted experts from outside Michigan about the use of force in the case. He spoke to Lyoya's parents to inform them about the charge before holding a news conference and also sent a letter in Swahili, their native language.
Across the state in Detroit, Peter Lyoya watched the announcement with his lawyer, Ven Johnson, and said he was pleased with the decision.
“We strongly believed there was no justice in America, until today,” Peter Lyoya said. “What I want is the final justice for my son.”
Another family lawyer, Ben Crump, said the murder charge was the right call, adding: “Officer Schurr must be held accountable.”
Schurr turned himself in and was scheduled to make a court appearance Friday, Becker said. The identity of his lawyer wasn't immediately known. The officer, a seven-year veteran, has not talked publicly about the shooting.
Schurr's personnel file shows no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs.