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Christopher Schurr and Patrick Lyoya
Trial begins Monday in Kent County Circuit Court for Christopher Schurr, the former Grand Rapids police officer charged with second-degree murder after fatally shooting motorist Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022.
The shooting was captured on video. So, Schurr's attorney is expected to argue that he followed police procedures and feared for his safety. He was fired from the department in 2022.
Lyoya, a 26-year-old immigrant from Central Africa, was killed about three minutes after the traffic stop began. Schurr, who joined the force in 2015, tackled the driver when he ran and then fired into the back of his head during a brief tussle, according to a video recorded by Lyoya's passenger.
Retired Detroit homicide detective Ira Todd is among the critics who believe Schurr should not have chased the driver.
"This is a traffic stop for some minor violation, a misdemeanor," Todd told Deadline Detroit in April 2022. "If he took off running on me, I would have gotten on the radio, 'Hey, we got a guy running,' given his description out, and gotten a tow truck to have that car towed from that location."
Then he would have gotten a "non-custody warrant for a number of things, and this guy would still be alive."
