No verdict, mistrial declared, in trial of Michigan police officer who
killed Congolese immigrant
[May 09, 2025]
By ISABELLA VOLMERT and ED WHITE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after a
Michigan jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict in the second-degree
murder trial of a police officer who shot Patrick Lyoya, a Black man, in
the back of the head following a traffic stop in 2022.
The result came at the start of the fourth day of deliberations and was
a partial victory for Christopher Schurr, who still could face another
trial. The killing of Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant and father of two,
sparked weeks of protest in Grand Rapids, especially after the city’s
police chief released video of the confrontation.
“It hurts my family, my wife. We are bleeding. We are in pain,” Lyoya’s
father, Peter Lyoya, said of the outcome, speaking through an
interpreter. “We’ll continue to fight until we get true justice for
Patrick.”
Defense attorney Matthew Borgula said he talked to jurors and learned
that most wanted to acquit Schurr.
“We cannot declare victory because there really is no winning here. A
man died, and that is a very serious thing," Borgula told reporters.
The mistrial occurred a day after three former Memphis police officers
were acquitted in the beating death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic
stop. His death was the first post-George Floyd case that revealed the
limits of an unprecedented reckoning over police reform and racial
injustice in Black America.
Video was played for days
Schurr shot Lyoya while on top of the 26-year-old, who was facedown on
the ground. Schurr told jurors he feared for his life after losing
control of his Taser during an intense struggle across front yards in a
residential neighborhood.
Videos were an important part of the trial and were repeatedly shown to
the jury, including critical images recorded by a man who was with Lyoya.
The struggle with the Taser, which fires electrically charged probes,
was central to Schurr’s defense.
The 34-year-old stared straight ahead as the mistrial was declared. One
spectator sitting near the Lyoya family loudly objected to the result as
he left the courtroom. Few members of the general public were present
compared to earlier in the trial.
Judge Christina Mims had urged the jurors to keep working after they
said Tuesday that they were struggling to reach a consensus. Besides
murder, they also could consider a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Lyoya’s family wants a second trial. Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker
said he would need more time to decide, adding that he won't “bow to
public pressure” from supporters or critics.
“We thought we put a good case forward. Obviously the jury thought
differently,” Becker said.
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Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr appears at the
Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday, May 8,
2025. (Joel Bissell/MLive.com/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)
Foot chase turned tragic
The shooting happened on April 4, 2022, when Schurr, who was
patrolling alone, stopped a Nissan Altima for improper license
plates and requested Lyoya's driver’s license.
Body camera and dash camera footage showed Lyoya running and the
officer tackling him. They struggled and the officer wasn't able to
subdue Lyoya with a Taser, which Lyoya was able to grab. Schurr
repeatedly demanded he stop resisting and drop the Taser, then fired
one bullet into his head.
Schurr testified he was “running on fumes” after the fight and in
great fear because a Taser can cause “excruciating pain.”
“I believed that if I hadn’t done it at that time, I wasn’t going to
go home,” Schurr said of shooting Lyoya.
The prosecutor, however, argued that the Taser had already been
deployed twice by Schurr and could only be used in a different mode
if Lyoya had decided to turn it against the officer.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Becker said the jury was divided
over the threat of the Taser and whether to focus on the exact
moment of the shooting or the entirety of the encounter.
Experts filled witness chair
It’s not known why Lyoya was trying to flee. Records show his
driver’s license was revoked at the time and there was an arrest
warrant for him in a domestic violence case, though Schurr didn’t
know it. An autopsy revealed his blood-alcohol level was three times
above the legal limit for driving.
Besides Schurr’s account of that day, jurors heard from witnesses
who were described as experts in the use of force. Some were
Schurr's fellow officers at the Grand Rapids department who
supported him.
Defense experts said the decision to use deadly force was justified
because the exhausted officer could have been seriously injured if
Lyoya had used the Taser. The prosecutor’s experts, however, said
Schurr had other choices, including simply letting the driver run.
Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, was fired shortly
after he was charged.
Lyoya’s family has said they came to the U.S. to escape prolonged
civil unrest in eastern Congo. Lyoya ultimately joined a list of
other Black immigrants who sought better lives in the U.S. only to
suffer abuse or death at the hands of law enforcement, including
Botham Jean, Amadou Diallo and Abner Louima.
___
White reported from Detroit.
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