On April 4, 2022, Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officer Christopher Schurr shot and killed 26-year-old Congolese immigrant Patrick Lyoya, who had fled a traffic stop and struggled with the officer over his taser, which, many do not believe justified Schurr placing his gun to the back of Lyoya’s head and pulling the trigger. Schurr was fired from the Grand Rapids Police Department and charged with second-degree murder that June, and now — three years and several unsuccessful appeals later — jury selection for his trial is set to begin.
According to WOODTV 8, potential jurors will be questioned beginning on Monday, and jury selection will get underway Tuesday.
At around 8:10 a.m. on April 4, 2022, Schurr, 34, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, pulled Lyoya over because his car didn’t match the license plate. Video footage of the stop taken from police body camera, dashboard camera, a doorbell camera and the cell phone of the passenger riding in Lyoya’s car was released to the public by the GRPD on April 13 of that year.
Here’s what we previously reported on what the video footage shows:
Taken together, the video footage shows Lyoya being pulled over on a rainy morning on a residential street lined with homes. Lyoya immediately got out of his car to confront the officer, who promptly told him to get back inside, something Lyoya did not do. Instead, he was shown engaging with the officer, who asked, “can you speak English?” in response to Lyoya’s Congolese accent.
The officer is shown initiating contact with Lyoya, who reacts by running away at a slow pace around the back of his car and onto the lawn of a home, where the officer managed to tackle him.
When the officer tries to pull out his Taser, Lyoya pushes it away while it was being deployed. The officer then yells at Lyoya numerous times to let the Taser go.
That’s why Lyoya tries to run away again, but the officer took him to the ground face-down, reached to his hip, grabbed his gun, and shot Lyoya in the back of his head with a single shot at point-blank range, executioner style.
It is important to note that Lyoya was at no point on the video seen initiating violence toward the officer.
Schurr’s trial date was finally locked in on Dec. 12, 2024, after his final appeal to have his case reviewed was rejected by Michigan’s supreme court on Dec. 2. Provided that jury selection remains on schedule, his trial will begin on April 28.
SEE ALSO:
Officer Who Killed Patrick Lyoya Heading To Trial After Appeal Rejected