DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan police officer charged with murder after shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head has been fired, officials said Wednesday.
Christopher Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed, effective last Friday, said City Manager Mark Washington.
FILE – Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr stops to talk with a resident, on Aug. 12, 2015, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Schurr, charged with second-degree murder in the death of Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was shot in the back of the head in April, has been fired, officials said Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (Emily Rose Bennett/The Grand Rapids Press via AP, File)
Schurr’s dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday.
Washington declined further comment, noting the criminal case and a likely lawsuit over Lyoya’s death.
Schurr’s attorney, Matt Borgula, said he wasn’t representing the officer in the labor matter and had no comment.
Lyoya, a Black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a driver’s license.
Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense lawyers said the officer feared for his safety.
The confrontation and shooting were recorded on video. Schurr, 31, had been on leave while state police investigated the shooting and prosecutor Chris Becker decided whether to pursue charges.
Lyoya’s parents had long called for Schurr to be fired.
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)
“Two words: about time. What took so long?” the family’s attorney, Ven Johnson, said. “They knew this was excessive force and they put him on paid leave while the family buried their son in the middle of the rain.”
Schurr’s personnel file shows no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs.
He spent a night in jail before being released on $100,000 bond Friday.
Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit.
