Jury says it is deadlocked in trial of former Grand Rapids police officer
Former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr seen on a courthouse monitor, as he stands trial on second-degree murder charges in the death of Patrick Lyoya. May, 2, 2025 | Sarah Leach
GRAND RAPIDS – Shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, the jury in the second-degree murder trial of a white ex-Grand Rapids police officer who fatally shot a Black motorist following a 2022 traffic stop, notified 17th Circuit Court Judge Christina Mims that they were unable to reach a verdict after deliberating for about 10 hours since Monday afternoon.
Mims provided jurors with additional instructions and told them to continue deliberations.
'Remember, it is your duty to consult with your fellow jurors and try to reach agreement, if you can do so without violating your own judgment,' she said. 'Naturally, there will be differences of opinion. You should each not only express your opinion, but also give the facts and the reasons on which you base it by reasoning the matter out, jurors can often reach agreement.'
When a jury is deadlocked, or unable to reach a verdict, the judge will typically declare a mistrial. That would return the case to its pre-trial state, allowing the prosecution to decide whether to retry the case or drop the charges.
Jury deliberations entered a second day Tuesday in Kent County's 17th Circuit Court in the trial of Christopher Schurr, now 34, who could face up to life in prison if convicted for the shooting death of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya.
Schurr pulled Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, over for having a license plate that didn't match the car he was driving on April 4, 2022. When Lyoya couldn't produce a driver's license, Schurr attempted to place him under arrest. The motorist then ran and Schurr tackled him to the ground. Schurr then attempted to tase Lyoya, but was too close and the motorist deflected the probes. The two then wrestled briefly over the Taser when the officer pulled out his handgun and fatally shot Lyoya in the back of the head.
Prosecutors have argued that Schurr made several questionable decisions during the incident, including opting to chase Lyoya, which put his back to the pulled-over vehicle that still had an unidentified passenger in the front seat.
The passenger, Aime Tuyishme, testified early last week that he got out of Lyoya's car after the officer tackle his friend; he then pulled out his cellphone to record the incident, which became a key piece of evidence during the trial.
Prosecution experts also criticized Schurr's decision to deploy the Taser within an arm's length of Lyoya — the close proximity allowed the motorist to prevent proper deployment and created a struggle over the device. They also said the shooting was unjustified, as Lyoya was face down on the ground with Schurr atop him when the shooting took place.
'Patrick did some dumb, bad things, but the defendant did some things, too. There are critical mistakes that occurred — that a reasonable officer wouldn't make these decisions,' Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said in his closing argument Monday.
Schurr's defense team has maintained that the officer genuinely feared for his life when Lyoya was able to gain possession of the Taser. Although he was lying on the ground facing away, Schurr, who took the stand Friday, said Lyoya was pushing himself back up and was attempting to turn around, prompting Schurr to use deadly force.
'At some point, I thought he was going to turn on me and use it on me,' Schurr said. 'If I had waited for him to point (the Taser) at me, it would be too late. I thought I was gonna die.'
Defense experts testified during the six-day trial that Schurr was in a high-stress situation that quickly physically depleted him and affected his decision-making abilities. GRPD officers who trained Schurr while he was with the department said any officer in a similar situation would have made the same decision.
'I think a reasonable officer would perform the same way in the same situation,' GRPD Captain David Siver testified Wednesday.
Schurr was fired from the Grand Rapids Police Department after he was charged in the shooting in June 2022.
In December 2022, Lyoya's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in federal court against the city of Grand Rapids and Schurr. In August 2023, a judge dismissed the case against the city, but allowed the litigation to proceed against Schurr.
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USA Today
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- USA Today
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