GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The trial began Monday for the former Grand Rapids police officer charged in the 2022 death of Patrick Lyoya began Monday.
Christopher Schurr, who fatally shot the 26-year-old refugee from Congo during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022, is charged with second-degree murder.
Click here to watch the proceedings live.
Lyoya shot in back of head
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker delivered his opening statement Monday morning.
“A single gunshot wound right to the back of the head,” Becker said to the jury. “That’s what killed Patrick Lyoya on a cold, wet, rainy day back in April of 2022.”
Becker told the jury the barrel of Schurr’s gun was on the back of Lyoya’s head when the shot was fired.
“You’ll see the video here -- the defendant that sits before you here today fired that shot that day,” Becker said, pointing to Schurr sitting in the courtroom.
Video evidence
Becker told the jury this case may have more video evidence than any other case.
“You’ll have cell phone video, body camera video,” Becker said. “You’ll have body camera video. You’ll have in-car video. You’ll have security camera video from across the street.”
Becker walked the jury through the video they’ll see, explaining they’ll see a traffic stop turn into a struggle.
Taser
Becker also told the jury the struggle for Schurr’s taser will be pivotal to the case.
“It’s not a gun -- even the taser training manual says it’s an option that doesn’t replace lethal force,” Becker said.
Becker also talked about the witnesses that will be taking the stand, including Lyoya’s friend and passenger in the car when the shooting happened.
Becker said a Taser expert will be called on to testify about the range you should use a taser.
Becker claims Schurr was too close to Lyoya to be using the taser.
Reasonable use of force
Central to the prosecution’s case is arguing that a reasonable officer would not have used deadly force in that situation.
“There was no intent and there was no ability to cause any sort of harm to the officer,” Becker said.
Becker concluded his 20-minute opening by asking the jury to return a guilty verdict.
“A police officer can commit murder -- they are no different than anybody else,” Becker said. “They are no different than any other citizen. They can commit murder, and that is what happened in April 2022.”