GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Scripps News West Michigan) — Judge Christina Mims has declared a mistrial in the trial of Christopher Schurr after the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Christopher Schurr stands in court. (Scripps News West Michigan)
For parts of four days, the jury deliberated over whether the former Grand Rapids police officer was guilty of second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter in the death of Patrick Lyoya.
On Tuesday, May 6, Judge Mims announced the jury was deadlocked and read to the jurors an instruction — often referred to as the Allen charge — telling them to return to their deliberation.
Ultimately, the twelve could not reach unanimity in the case, causing the judge to declare a mistrial on Thursday, May 8.
The prosecution may now retry the case with a new jury — a potential monthslong process — dismiss the charges or enter into a plea agreement with the defendant.
Schurr fatally shot Lyoya, a 26-year-old black man, in the back of the head as the two struggled over his taser during an April 2022 traffic stop.
The shooting, filmed on a cell phone by a passenger in the car Lyoya was driving, sparked protests in Grand Rapids and preceded policy changes on use of force within the city’s police department.
Schurr himself took the stand on the trial’s fifth day, and said he took Lyoya’s life in self-defense.
“If I didn’t do what I did when I did it, I wouldn’t be here today,” said the former officer, claiming he feared for his life when he saw Lyoya take “full control” of his taser.
Notably, the defendant said he did not notice the taser had no remaining cartridges when he made the decision to draw his gun and fire the fatal shot.
During closing arguments, defense attorney Matthew Borgula concentrated on the “split-second” nature of such a decision.
“Christopher Schurr was at work and he was faced with the toughest decision of his life,” Borgula said. “It’s not murder. It’s not manslaughter. This man did not commit a crime. No one is saying Patrick Lyoya deserved to die. That is not what this is about.”
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker, who filed the second-degree murder charge against Schurr in June 2022, claimed the former officer’s actions were not justified as his fear was not reasonable.
MORE | Witness: Cop had ‘upper hand’ before killing Black motorist
During testimony, Becker called to the stand a pair of expert witnesses on police use of force who commented on generally accepted police practices.
“In order to justify a use of deadly force, it’s generally accepted in policing that there has to be an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm. said Seth Stoughton, a law professor and former police officer.
“In my opinion, that was lacking in this case,” he said, referencing the limited capacity of Schurr’s taser at the time of the shooting itself.
This undated photo provided by Ben Crump Law shows Patrick Lyoya. The union representing police officers in a Michigan city is defending the officer who shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head. Lyoya’s death is “tragic,” the Grand Rapids Police Officers Association said, but an “officer has the legal right to protect themselves and community in a volatile dangerous situation such as this, in order to return to his/her family at the end of their shift.”(photo courtesy of Ben Crump Law via AP)
Stoughton also claimed Schurr put himself at risk when he deployed the taser within arm’s length of Lyoya, and also when he chased after Lyoya in an attempt to arrest him, disregarding the potential threat posed by the passenger in the car.
“In these certain, critical areas there are certain, critical mistakes that occurred,” Becker said during closing arguments. “A reasonable officer wouldn’t have made those decisions.”
A number of witnesses called by the defense, though, including two GRPD captains, claimed Schurr acted in accordance with his training.
“We don’t expect perfection,” Capt. David Siver said. “[Police officers] don’t have the luxury of having all the time in the world to make a decision.”
“A reasonable officer could perform the same way in that situation,” Siver said about the shooting, adding that GRPD training tells its officers to retain their weapon “at all costs.”
The defense also called to the stand an expert in exercise and sports science who testified to the fatigue potentially felt by Schurr during the struggle.
“I’ve never been that exhausted,” Schurr himself said as part of his testimony. “I believed that, if I hadn’t done it at that time, I wasn’t going to go home.”
The hung jury comes more than three years after the deadly traffic stop.
This story was originally written by Sam Landstra for Scripps News West Michigan, an E.W. Scripps Company.
