Christopher Schurr case: Ex-Grand Rapids cop faces murder trial in death of Patrick Lyoya
Patrick Lyoya death: Family wants justice in trial against ex-Grand Rapids cop
Patrick was a Congolese refugee — his father, Peter Lyoya, speaks Swahili and Israel Siku is his translator. Peter said these past three years have left a void in his family and says Schurr must face justice.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (FOX 2) - More than three years after Patrick Lyoya, 26-year-old immigrant, was shot and killed by a now former Grand Rapids police officer, a jury has been seated.
The trial of Christopher Schurr starts on Monday, April 28 after the court spent this week seating a jury on the second-degree murder charges.
Schurr is charged with killing Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022.
According to WZZM in Grand Rapids, a pool of 200 people from Kent County was called on Monday to begin the process. Throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday, attorneys questioned potential jurors. By 11:10 a.m. on Wednesday, the jury was seated.
WZZM was in the courtroom for jury selection and reports that the jury is made up of 10 women and 4 men: Ten of the jury members are white, three are Latino, and one jury member is Black. She was the only Black person questioned to be on the jury out of a randomly selected pool.
The trial will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, April 28 in Grand Rapids.
The backstory:
Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head during the struggle after pulling him over due a license plate issue. Dashcam video from the police cruiser showed Lyoya getting out of the car and telling Lyoya to get back in the vehicle. He then asked for Lyoya's license.
Lyoya was confused about why he was pulled over and Schurr asked if he spoke English. Lyoya said yes. He also told the officer his license was in his car.
Lyoya walked toward the front of the car. The officer grabbed him, and a struggle ensued. Lyoya began running, and the officer chased him.
Video showed the officer taking Lyoya to the ground before hitting and kicking him. The struggle continued as the pair got off the ground. The officer tried to tase Lyoya twice but missed and hit the ground.
After the second taser attempt, the officer's body worn camera deactivated. Police Chief Eric Winstrom said the cameras deactivate when a button on them is held down for 3 seconds and noted that it appeared that the camera was bumped and shut off during the fight.
As the two scuffled, the officer repeatedly told Lyoya to let go of the taser. Winstrom said it appeared that the officer and Lyoya both had a hand on the taser for about 90 seconds.
A passenger in Lyoya's car was filming the encounter and could be heard yelling that "He's good," and "He didn't grab no taser."
The officer continued telling Lyoya to let go of the taser as the office got him facedown. While on Lyoya's back, the officer pulled out his gun and shot Lyoya once in the head, video showed. Winstrom confirmed that Lyoya was shot in the head.
After the single shot, Schurr stayed on top of Lyoya before getting up and calling in the shooting.
Three months later, in June 2022, Schurr was charged with second-degree murder.
The Source: Previous stories from FOX 2 Detroit were used in reporting on this story. Information gathered from WZZM in Grand Rapids was also used for details about the jury.