Former Michigan police officer’s murder trial ends with hung jury

A Grand Rapids, Mich. murder trial ended Thursday with a split jury in the case of a former police officer who shot a Congolese immigrant three years ago. Christopher Schurr, who has since been fired, was charged with second-degree murder for killing 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop. With the jury deadlocked, his case was declared a mistrial, MLive reported.

The city of Grand Rapids issued a statement Thursday acknowledging the continued pain and uncertainty both Schurr and Lyoya’s family face with no definitive conclusion to the case.

What circumstances led to Lyoya’s death? Lyoya ran away from a traffic stop in April 2022. Schurr pursued and tackled him. After failing twice to hit Lyoya with his Taser as the two scuffled, Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head while on top of him. Schurr testified at trial that he feared for his life, the Associated Press reported.

Lyoya’s death, less than two years after the high-profile death of George Floyd in police custody, inflamed tensions and sparked weeks of protests in Grand Rapids, according to the Associated Press.

Is the mistrial the end of Schurr’s case? Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker has the option to refile and prosecute Schurr again. Becker didn’t know on Thursday if he would move forward with a new case, local news reported. Lyoya’s family and the local NAACP have urged him to do so, MLive reported.

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