Grand Rapids cop gets mistrial for Patrick Lyoya’s murder

Since April 12, 2022, BOSSIP has been following the case against former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr, who was charged with the second-degree murder of Patrick Lyoya. Schurr initiated a traffic stop because Lyoya’s car had a license plate that allegedly did not correspond to the vehicle. When Lyoya attempted to flee from Schurr, he was tackled and shot in the back of the head while lying face down on the ground. Lyoya never attacked Schurr nor was he armed, there was no justification for lethal force, however, Lyoya is dead all the same.

The release of the body camera footage from the killing only further incensed Lyoya’s family and the community at large because it is difficult to watch the video and see anything other than a murder. Schurr was fired from the police department and subsequently charged with second-degree murder.

It has been over three painful years since that day, and the Lyoya family has been patient in allowing the system to work in a case that should be fairly easy to adjudicate, However, this is Amerikkka.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the outcome of the criminal trial was not what the family or community wanted, as Judge Christina Mims declared a mistrial as the jury stood deadlocked after 20 hours of deliberation on whether or not to convict Schurr of Lyoya’s murder.