GRAND RAPIDS (AP) 鈥 There鈥檚 no question about how Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant, was killed.
Lyoya was fatally shot in the back of the head while on the ground by a Michigan police officer, who was subsequently charged with second-degree murder. The question before a jury this week is whether the use of deadly force against the Black man was justified.
High-ranking Grand Rapids officers defended Christopher Schurr鈥檚 actions Thursday, the fourth day of trial, as his attorneys tried to show that he was forced to use his gun after Lyoya got possession of his Taser. If convicted, Schurr faces up to life in prison.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to wait for someone to hurt us to do something,鈥 said Capt. Chad McKersie, a Taser expert in the Grand Rapids department.
Schurr driven by Lyoya for improper license plates in April 2022 in a residential neighborhood in Grand Rapids, roughly 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of Detroit.
shows Schurr struggling to subdue Lyoya as they grappled over the officer鈥檚 Taser. Schurr told him to stop resisting and drop the weapon multiple times throughout the encounter.
While Lyoya was with Schurr on top of him, the officer took out his gun and once in the back of the head.
McKersie told the jury that Lyoya had 鈥渃omplete control鈥 of Schurr鈥檚 Taser, a weapon that fires electrically charged probes intended to freeze muscles and stop an aggressor.
It鈥檚 possible that Lyoya could have pressed the Taser against Schurr in 鈥渄rive stun鈥 mode after two cartridges were already spent, McKersie said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 perceived like a blowtorch. It鈥檚 unbelievably painful,鈥 he testified.
But during cross-examination, Chris Becker asked McKersie to point to a Grand Rapids policy that says deadly force can be used when an officer鈥檚 Taser is taken away.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e looking for the black-and-white answer. It鈥檚 the totality of the circumstances at that time,鈥 McKersie replied, noting that Schurr was exhausted and Lyoya wouldn鈥檛 stop resisting during a fight that lasted more than two minutes.
Grand Rapids Officer Jason Gady, a firearms instructor, said there was nothing unreasonable about the shooting. He said training does not recommend officers fire a warning shot or a shot to the extremities if presented with a deadly threat.
Schurr, 34, was by city officials at the recommendation of Chief Eric Winstrom after he was charged. At the time, Winstrom said his recommendation was based on video of the encounter, the prosecutor鈥檚 review of a state police investigation and Schurr鈥檚 interview with internal investigators.
Police spokesperson Jennifer Kalczuk declined to comment Thursday about testimony from local officers in support of Schurr, saying it would be inappropriate. The trial will resume Friday.
Earlier in the week, a representative from Axon, the company that makes Tasers, said Schurr鈥檚 device was fired twice but apparently didn鈥檛 strike Lyoya. Bryan Chiles agreed with defense lawyers that the officer could have been seriously injured if Lyoya had turned the Taser on Schurr and used in 鈥渄rive stun鈥 mode.
Lyoya’s death prompted calls to reform the police department. People who support Schurr and the victim have protested outside the Kent County courthouse during the trial.
Mary and Frank Hillyard, retired teachers, stood outside Thursday with signs that said 鈥淛ustice 4 Patrick.鈥
鈥淚 have a lot of people that I know in law enforcement,鈥 Frank Hillyard said. 鈥淚 appreciate their service. But this kind of stuff is just out of bounds.鈥
Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday after calling witnesses in the neighborhood who saw the fight, as well as two experts in the use of force.
Seth Stoughton, a South Carolina law professor and former police officer, said deadly force can be justified if there is an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm against an officer.
鈥淚n my opinion, that was lacking in this case,鈥 Stoughton told the jury.
He noted that Schurr had time to tell Lyoya that he might shoot him, a warning that might have defused the conflict.
Nicholas Bloomfield, an expert from New Mexico and a former police officer, said the shooting was 鈥渦nreasonable, excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practices.鈥
He noted that the video shows Lyoya trying to get away from Schurr 鈥 not get closer. Bloomfield said Schurr should have known that Lyoya couldn鈥檛 use the Taser to incapacitate the officer because the weapon鈥檚 two powerful electric cartridges had already been fired.
鈥淧atrick Lyoya did grab ahold of the officer鈥檚 Taser and there was a struggle over the Taser,鈥 Bloomfield testified. 鈥淏ut again, in this circumstance, there was nothing that we termed to be aggressiveness or combativeness on the part of Mr. Lyoya toward the officer.鈥
