Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr sits in court during the second day of his trial at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. (WOOD-TV via AP, Pool)
Patrick Lyoya’s parents Dorcas, left, and Peter talk with translator Israel Siku, right, during a break in the sixth day of trial for former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr, who is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Monday, May 5, 2025. (Joel Bissell/MLive.com/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)
Mistrial for Michigan police officer charged in fatal shooting of Congolese immigrant
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) 鈥 A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after the jury couldn鈥檛 reach a unanimous verdict in the second-degree murder trial of a Michigan police officer who shot Patrick Lyoya, a Black man, following a traffic stop in 2022.
Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr sits in court during the second day of his trial at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. (WOOD-TV via AP, Pool)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) 鈥 A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after the jury couldn鈥檛 reach a unanimous verdict in the second-degree murder trial of a Michigan police officer who shot Patrick Lyoya, a Black man, following a traffic stop in 2022.
The judge declared a mistrial and ended the proceedings, a partial victory for Christopher Schurr, who still could face another trial. Lyoya鈥檚 death had sparked weeks of in Grand Rapids, especially after the city鈥檚 police chief released video of the confrontation.
Schurr shot Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, in the back of the head while the 26-year-old lay facedown on the ground. Schurr told jurors that he feared his life was at stake after losing control of his Taser during an intense struggle in a residential neighborhood. Schurr, a seven-year veteran of the Grand Rapids police department, was fired shortly after he was charged in 2022.
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The mistrial came a day after three former Memphis police officers in the beating death of after a traffic stop. His death more than two years ago was the first post-George Floyd case that of an unprecedented reckoning over police reform and racial injustice in Black America.
Heavy security was present in the small courtroom Thursday morning. Relatively few members of the general public were present compared to the rest of the trial, when the rows were filled with people in support of either Schurr or the Lyoya family.
Schurr stared straight ahead as the mistrial was declared. One spectator sitting on the side of the courtroom near the Lyoya family loudly objected to the mistrial as he left the courtroom.
鈥淭hank you for your time,鈥 Judge Christina Mims told the jury.
Schurr stopped driven by Lyoya for improper license plates on April 4, 2022.
showed Lyoya running after Schurr requested his driver鈥檚 license. Schurr tackled him and a struggle ensued. The officer tried to subdue Lyoya by firing his Taser but he was unsuccessful.
Lyoya eventually got control of the device, which fires electrically charged probes, and Schurr repeatedly demanded that he stop resisting and drop the Taser.
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Schurr was when he shot him in the head. Videos were a key part of trial and were repeatedly shown to the jury.
The struggle with the Taser was central to Schurr鈥檚 defense. He testified that he was 鈥渞unning on fumes鈥 after the fight and in great fear because a Taser can cause 鈥渆xcruciating pain鈥 and injury.
鈥淚 believed that if I hadn鈥檛 done it at that time, I wasn鈥檛 going to go home,鈥 Schurr said of shooting Lyoya.
The prosecutor, however, argued that the Taser had already been deployed twice by Schurr by that time and could only be used in a different mode if Lyoya had decided to turn it against the officer.
It鈥檚 not known why Lyoya was trying to flee. Records show his driver鈥檚 license was revoked at the time and there was an arrest warrant for him in a domestic violence case, though Schurr didn鈥檛 know it. An autopsy revealed his blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit for driving, according to testimony.
Lyoya ultimately joined a list of other Black immigrants who sought better lives in the U.S., only to suffer abuse or death at the hands of law enforcement. Before him were , and 鈥 all men whose cases increased awareness around the global impact of systemic racism in policing.
As in many U.S. cities, Grand Rapids police have been occasionally criticized over the use of force, particularly against Black people, who make up 18% of the population.
