Michigan Cop Charged With Patrick Lyoya’s Death Is Fired
Christopher Schurr, the white Grand Rapids police officer who shot and killed Patrick Lyoya, has been fired.
According to the Associated Press, city manager Mark Washington confirmed Schurr was dismissed as of June 10. The Grand Rapids officer of seven years, whose personnel file showed no previous complaints of excessive force, also waived his right to a hearing.
Washington declined to comment, and on June 9, Kent County, Mich., prosecutor Christopher Becker charged Schurr with second-degree murder.
A second degree murder charge is a felony offense in Michigan, meaning Schurr could face life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the Detroit Free Press.
When the charges were filed, attorney for the Lyoya family, Benjamin Crump, said, "While the road to justice for Patrick and his family has just begun, this decision is a crucial step in the right direction. Officer Schurr must be held accountable for his decision to pursue an unarmed Patrick, ultimately shooting him in the back of the head and killing him – for nothing more than a traffic stop.”
Schurr’s patrol car was equipped with an automatic plate reader, according to The New York Times. He pulled over Lyoya because the plate didn’t match the car, though it’s unclear if the equipment alerted Schurr.
On April 4, after being pulled over, Lyoya, who was unarmed, stepped out of the vehicle and asked Schurr, 31, why he was stopped. “The plate doesn’t belong on this car,” the officer replied. What happened next was captured in videos from a passenger in Lyoya’s car, home-surveillance system, as well as Schurr’s dashboard and body-worn cameras.
Lyoya fled on foot and Schurr ran after him. The officer pulled out his Taser and fired at him twice without success. Schurr caught up to Lyoya and sat on Lyoya’s back. During the struggle, Schurr shot him in the back of the head.
According to CNN, Lyoya had three outstanding warrants at the time of the traffic stop, and an autopsy found that his blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit to drive.
The New York Times reports that policing experts questioned why the officer fired his Taser at close range on Lyoya. According to the outlet, the Grand Rapids police chief said that officers were trained not to deploy a Taser within four feet of a suspect.
Before immigrating to the United States in 2014, Lyoya lived with his family in a refugee camp in Malawi after escaping a violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Patrick Lyoya was 26 years old.
