26-05-2025
Lyoya family hurt, Schurr relieved by prosecutor's decision not to retry, advocates say
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Kent County commissioner who has stood with the family of Patrick Lyoya since he was shot and killed by a then-Grand Rapids police officer says the family is heartbroken knowing the criminal case is over.
'(The Lyoya family is) very hurt, still trying to understand the American justice system. They don't see any excuse for this verdict or for the person who shot their son in the back of the head to be free,' Commissioner Robert Womack said. 'We're going to continue to work them on the healing process.'
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced Thursday that he would not retry Christopher Schurr, whom he had charged with second-degree murder in the April 2022 death of Lyoya, a 26-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. After years of appeals, the case went to trial in late April. On May 8, the jury deadlocked.
Prosecutor will not retry Christopher Schurr in Patrick Lyoya's death
Schurr's attorneys, Matthew Borgula and Mark Dodge, said their client feels relieved and vindicated by Becker's decision.
'But certainly not celebration,' Dodge said. 'As far as the last three years, it's never been anything to celebrate for Mr. Schurr and his family.'
'The prosecutor got this right here, that a retrial wouldn't be good for anybody because at best it would've ended up in another hung jury,' Borgula said.
In a Facebook post, the Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge of Michigan commended Becker's choice not to pursue a retrial.
'This decision reflects a recognition of the complex and split-second circumstances law enforcement officers face in the line of duty,' the post read.
Schurr juror: One hold-out kept former officer from being acquitted
The attorney representing Lyoya's family in a civil wrongful death suit against Schurr said in a statement that the decision not to retry meant the family would never see justice in a criminal court.
'The Lyoya family has not only lost Patrick, but now the hope that former officer Christopher Schurr will ever be held criminally accountable for taking Patrick's life. With today's decision, what was once a pause in justice has now become a permanent reality. This is not a verdict nor the outcome the Lyoya family sought,' attorney Ven Johnson stated. 'We will continue to stand with the Lyoya family in their pursuit of truth, accountability and justice for Patrick, and are awaiting our day in civil court.'
Womack praised Becker's work on the case and takes the prosecutor at his word that a guilty verdict would be difficult to achieve.
'I think the jury is reflective of the community, that we are split in half when it comes to this situation here in Grand Rapids,' Womack said.
Womack added that he remains disappointed the case wasn't retried and wants to continue to fight for police reform in the city of Grand Rapids.
Greater Grand Rapids NAACP President Cle Jackson and Urban League of West Michigan President Eric Brown feel differently.
'My initial reaction was anger. I'll be candid. It was anger then it moved to disappointment and devastation. I could not believe this was the decision he came to,' Brown said.
They say Lyoya's family and the community deserved another chance.
'It's devastating. It's devastating. We had an opportunity to again to go back, retry and try to get it right. Patrick deserves that,' Jackson said. 'The Lyoya family deserves that opportunity to retry. Just like the ex-officer Schurr had an opportunity to due process.'
'We had the opportunity to get it right, didn't make it, but we had another opportunity to do even better, to try even harder. I think that was justice disserved,' Brown agreed.
They argued the leader of Michigan State Police, the Grand Rapids police chief and the Grand Rapids city manager all should have been called to testify as expert witnesses, and questioned why a woman whose husband is a police officer was allowed to remain on the jury.
Jackson and Brown say they have reached out to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, urging her to take up the case.
Grand Rapids leaders promise 'commitment to police reforms' despite no Schurr retrial
Womack said his goal now is to continue to fight for reforms to policing in West Michigan.
'This just gives us more motivation to fight for better police and community relations. That's only going to change with policies, training and laws being changed that will protect our community from incidents like this,' he said.
Jackson, the NAACP president, noted the Grand Rapids Police Department did make some changes to policy after Lyoya's death, but said those changes don't have any teeth.
'There's no level of enforcement and oversight embedded in policy,' he said.
In statements Thursday, Grand Rapids city leaders said they are committed to ongoing dialogue and reforms.
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