GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The trial for the former Grand Rapids police officer, who is charged with murder in the 2022 death of Patrick Lyoya, is set to begin this week.
A jury will begin to hear testimony on Monday, April 28, 2025, in the trial of Christopher Schurr, who was charged with second-degree murder in the killing of the Black motorist.
We’ll be streaming the trial on Local 4+, starting at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Lyoya, a 26-year-old refugee from the Congo, was shot and killed by Schurr on April 4, 2022.
The 14 jurors, including two alternates, were selected before noon on Wednesday, April 23, according to WOODTV.
The jury consists of four men and 10 women. Jurors include one woman who said she is biracial and four Hispanic people. The jury also consists of a nurse, a graphic designer, two janitors, a code enforcement officer and a retired bank teller.
This comes after about 200 prospective jurors were called to the Kent County Courthouse on Monday, April 21, 2025.
Patrick Lyoya’s family wants justice
“As a parent, as a father, the only thing that I will be asking for is just justice for my son-- Justice for Patrick,” Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya said.
Lyoya’s family plans to attend the criminal trial set to begin April 28 in Grand Rapids.
“This case to me is no different than George Floyd,” attorney Ven Johnson said.
Johnson has been by the family’s side since the shooting and is representing them in their civil lawsuit against the city.
Will Schurr take the stand?
Johnson expects Schurr will take the stand in his own defense during the trial.
“Schurr is going to testify,” Johnson said. “He has to. Right? Because only he can talk about his state of mind when he pulled that trigger. While he was on top of Patrick, while Patrick was on the ground and while Schurr had the gun to the back of Patrick’s head.”
In cell phone and body camera video, Schurr and Lyoya are seen struggling for several minutes.
Schurr fired the fatal shot while Lyoya was on the ground, demanding that he “let go” of the officer’s Taser.
Johnson said to expect a lot of technical testimony about the taser during the trial.
The prosecution and defense are expected to make arguments about whether the taser was a deadly weapon, if it was operable, and if Lyoya had possession of it.
“Even if Schurr is right that Patrick had the taser, it was meaningless,” Johnson said. “It would have done nothing to Schurr.”
In a preliminary hearing, Schurr’s attorneys have argued he acted in self-defense.
Local 4 reached out to Schurr’s attorneys for comment ahead of the trial, but did not hear back.
