Mistrial for ex-Grand Rapids officer Christopher Schurr, who fatally shot Patrick Lyoya
On its fourth day of deliberation, a west Michigan jury declared it could not reach a verdict and the judge declared a mistrial in the murder trial of a former Grand Rapids police officer.
Christopher Schurr, 34, was charged with one count of second-degree murder stemming from the April 2022 shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant. Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head after tackling him after Lyoya tried to flee a traffic stop in southeast Grand Rapids.
Schurr's attorneys had argued the former officer was acting in self defense, after Lyoya attempted to grab Schurr's Taser during the physical struggle. Prosecutors had argued Schurr used excessive force.
The jury deliberated for about 20 hours before informing 17th Circuit Judge Christina Mims it could not reach a verdict. Mims declared a mistrial.
Inside the courtroom, Schurr did not have a discernible reaction when Mims announced the mistrial. There were not visible reactions from members of the Lyoya or Schurr families, either.
Throughout the trial, the 12-person jury was able to see footage of the shooting played numerous times, and from different angles, from the moment Schurr exited his patrol car to the moments after he shot Lyoya. Jurors also heard from a series of witnesses, the bulk of whom were qualified as policing experts, but also from eyewitnesses, investigators, police officers who responded to the scene of the shooting and Schurr himself.
Much of the testimony focused on the Taser — defense lawyers argued Lyoya had gained possession of it from Schurr. Once Schurr believed Lyoya had control of the Taser, he was within his rights to use deadly force and shoot Lyoya, policing experts called by the defense testified.
The prosecution focused large parts of its case around Schurr's training with the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD), where he had joined as a recruit in 2015. Policing expert witnesses called by the prosecution said Schurr acted improperly by chasing Lyoya on foot after he tried to flee the traffic stop.
The shooting, and the subsequent release of footage of the incident, sparked protests in Grand Rapids in 2022, when demonstrators called for police accountability.
During the trial, demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse in downtown Grand Rapids to await a verdict. Some stood in support of Schurr, waving 'thin blue line' flags that have emerged as a support symbol for law enforcement. Others chanted 'Justice for Patrick,' with one demonstrator waving a flag with the letters 'BLM' painted on, an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Christopher Schurr trial: Mistrial declared for ex-Grand Rapids officer
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