2022 police killing in Michigan
On April 4, 2022, Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old resident of Grand Rapids, was fatally shot by Officer Christopher Schurr of the Grand Rapids Police Department during a scuffle between the two in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. After Lyoya began to flee the scene, Schurr attempted to detain him, unsuccessfully fired a taser at Lyoya, and then Lyoya attempted to disarm Officer Schurr of the weapon. Ultimately, Lyoya was successful in disarming Officer Schurr. Officer Schurr then discharged one round from his firearm.
As news of the shooting and videos of the incident were released, public protests occurred to denounce the officer's actions, to demand the reform of the GRPD, and for the recusal of the prosecutor handling the case due to alleged conflicts of interest. Per protocol, investigations of the shooting were performed by a non-involved entity, with the Michigan State Police assuming responsibility. On June 9, 2022, Schurr was charged with second-degree murder, alleging that the death was intentional and not justified as self-defense, facing up to life in prison with the possibility of parole if convicted. Schurr's trial has yet to be scheduled.
Parties involved.
Patrick Lyoya.
Patrick Lyoya was a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation experiencing unrest fueled by repeated foreign intervention since the overthrow and execution of Patrice Lumumba, which was organized by Belgium and the Central Intelligence Agency, that led to the Congo Crisis and subsequent conflicts. According to Lyoya's family, they fled eastern Congo after experiencing years of violence in the Kivu conflict. Lyoya's parents sold beer and clothing for money; his mother was once raped by rebels on her way home. The Lyoya family moved to Malawi in 2003 and Lyoya spent half of his life living in a bamboo house at a refugee camp. In 2014, the family received asylum in the United States. Lyoya often assisted fellow refugees who were establishing themselves in the Grand Rapids area. While in the United States Lyoya had a difficult time establishing himself; he did not yet speak the English language proficiently, he switched homes frequently, and he changed blue-collar jobs multiple times. He had also been arrested for drunk driving several times and was ordered to be assessed for substance use disorder, with Lyoya telling his friends that he was trying to improve his life. He had two children and had been living in Grand Rapids for about five years prior to the incident.
Christopher Schurr.
The officer identified as shooting Lyoya is Christopher Schurr, who received a criminal justice degree from Siena Heights University in May 2014. According to "The New York Times", former teammates from Schurr's college track team recounted that he was strict with rules and was easily angered, with some peers questioning whether such a temper would be suitable for a career in law enforcement. Schurr also participated in Christian missionary trips in Africa. Joining the GRPD in 2015, Schurr received multiple commendations by police department leaders due to his chasing of individuals on foot. A 2017 review of his performance resulted with multiple officers praising Schurr's actions. Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom initially did not identify Schurr saying that the department would only release the officer's identity if criminal charges are filed, resulting with protests demanding the release of the officer's name. Schurr, per protocol, was placed on paid administrative leave and his police powers were suspended pending an investigation by the Michigan State Police. The name of the officer involved in the shooting was shared on April 25 by Chief Winstrom, who stated "In the interest of transparency, to reduce on-going speculation, and to avoid any further confusion, I am confirming the name already publicly circulating – Christopher Schurr – as the officer involved in the April 4 Officer-Involved Shooting. Beginning this week, as required by law, the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) will be releasing documents in response to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act relative to this incident."
Grand Rapids Police Department.
Police killings in Michigan had been occurring at an increasing rate in the years leading to the shooting and proposed legislation to reform policing practices following the murder of George Floyd were never enacted. At the same time, the Grand Rapids Police Department had faced criticism nationally for alleged police brutality prior to the incident and for incidents of officers drawing guns on people of color. In 2017, city data showed that black individuals were pulled over twice as much as non-black individuals. Since 2017, groups and civil rights activists had already been raising concerns about police brutality in Grand Rapids and called for better initiatives to bring better community relations between citizens and the police. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights received dozens of complaints regarding GRPD and calls to investigate possible racial discrimination used by the police department prior to the shooting. Investigations by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights began in 2019, though the department put investigations on hold citing a lack of resources and staff.
According to MLive, controversial incidents involving GRPD officers and people of color continued, with the news outlet listing events where a 12-year-old black girl was handcuffed, two Latinos boys were approached at gunpoint and handcuffed for walking in the road and in September 2021 a black man was accidentally arrested at gunpoint preparing for the wake of his mother-in-law after matching the description of the suspect. "The Hill" wrote "the Grand Rapids Police Department has been involved with several other incidents involving alleged excessive use of force", detailing a 2021 event where a black 26-year-old man was punched repeatedly in the head by a GRPD officer during an alleged littering incident.
Following the incident, "The New York Times" reported:
The city responded to such incidents by hiring consultants and drew up plans to address concerns related to the behavior of its police department, including a youth interaction program for police. In 2018, consultant group 21st Century Policing Solutions provided recommendations and monitored police behavior, with MLive writing the group concluded GRPD "had much more work to be done". The city also initiated studies to evaluate the relationship of residents and the police. In 2020, City of Grand Rapids survey data revealed that black respondents held less trust in GRPD than white or Hispanic respondents. That same year, the GRPD outlined a plan, according to MLive, that included "making every patrol officer a community policing specialist, pilot a co-response of officers and mental health workers to specific incidents, enhance community communication, evaluate specific police technologies and more".
Incident.
According to a Michigan State Police interview with Lyoya's passenger, the passenger and a friend woke Lyoya to ask him for a ride to downtown Grand Rapids. After dropping off the friend, the two purchased beer—the passenger said there were open containers in the vehicle—and the two discussed Lyoya starting a business for haircuts. Shortly after 8:00 a.m. EDT, a dashcam video shows Schurr, who was driving alone, passing a tan Nissan Altima driven by Lyoya in his patrol car, with the officer pulling into a home's driveway to turn around and follow Lyoya for a few residential blocks before pulling him over. Lyoya's passenger said that Lyoya was already pulling over as the vehicle was experiencing mechanical problems. Grand Rapids Police Department records show that Schurr called in the traffic stop at Griggs Street SE and Nelson Avenue SE at 8:11 a.m. EDT.
At the time that Schurr pulled him over for having an improper vehicle registration—its license plates were registered to a different vehicle—Lyoya was on probation and his license had been revoked for a third time, most recently since March 20, 2022, following his third substance abuse conviction in 10 years. He also had three active warrants for his arrest: the first for a traffic accident on Christmas Day 2021 where Lyoya allegedly fled the scene; a second for failure to appear at a court hearing; and a third for domestic violence issued just three days before, after the mother of one of Lyoya's children accused him of punching her and smashing her face into a car in a dispute over bedsheets. It was later determined that Lyoya had a blood alcohol content of 0.29, more than triple the legal limit of 0.08.
Video recordings show Lyoya exiting his sedan, ignoring Schurr's shouted orders for him to remain in the vehicle, then asking the officer "What did I do wrong?" Lyoya initially appears confused when Schurr asks him for his driver's license, but then confirms he speaks English and tells the officer it's inside the car. Lyoya opens the driver's side door of his vehicle and stands there for about 30 seconds while he speaks to a passenger inside, but never reenters the car or retrieves a license. Lyoya then closes the car door again and begins to walk towards the hood of his vehicle, away from Schurr. Schurr attempts to grab Lyoya by the arm, who then runs away. At 8:13 a.m. EDT, Schurr calls for backup, then pursues Lyoya and a scuffle ensues. Schurr tells Lyoya to "stop" and "stop resisting" several times, and at one point Lyoya replies "okay" as his hands are behind his back.
Schurr then pulls out his taser gun and aims it at Lyoya, who pushes it away from his body. With the officer missing twice with the taser, the two can be seen grasping the weapon during the incident, with Lyoya attempting to push the taser gun to the ground away from himself. During the scuffle, Lyoya tells Schurr "Stop what you are doing, please" while the passenger of the car can be heard telling the officer "Stop. You don't have to do all of that; you can talk to him". The struggle for Schurr's Taser lasts about 90 seconds, and ends with Lyoya facing prone on the ground and Schurr atop him, his chest pressed against Lyoya's back. Schurr shouts for Lyoya to "drop the Taser" or "let go of the Taser" at least five times, and at approximately 8:16 a.m. EDT, Schurr draws his gun, presses it to the back of Lyoya's head, yells "Let go of the Taser" a final time, then shoots Lyoya. At 8:16 a.m. EDT, Schurr radioed in the shooting, including that a suspect was down.
Chief Winstrom subsequently confirmed that Lyoya was shot in the back of his head, that he was unaware of any weapons recovered other than Schurr's firearm and Taser, and that the police body camera had become deactivated as a result of the struggle. He also confirmed that Schurr's squad car was equipped with an automatic license-plate reader, but didn't know whether it had been deployed in making the stop, or if Schurr was aware of Lyoya's criminal history at the time of the shooting.
GRPD records include documentation of officers responding to the scene, with one officer writing that a witness said Lyoya had taken Schurr's Taser and stated "Your officer, he did all the right shit. ... He did everything he could do to deescalate the situation." The witness, who stated he was getting his phone from his home when the shot was fired, later stated he changed his opinion about the whether the shooting was justified after viewing video of the killing, stating Schurr "always had the upper hand".
Investigations and criminal charges.
Following the shooting, the Michigan State Police (MSP) opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Lyoya's death. Multiple videos of the incident, from a police dashcam, a police body camera, a video doorbell and the cell phone of Lyoya's passenger in the vehicle, were released during a press conference by Chief Winstrom on April 13. The investigations conducted by the MSP then go to Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker, who will decide whether or not to charge the officer. Becker stated following the release of videos that "[w]hile the videos released today are important evidence, they are not all evidence" and chose not to immediately press charges against the officer, waiting for investigations to conclude.
After the official autopsy had been performed but before its results were released, the Lyoya family hired Dr. Werner Spitz to perform a second, independent autopsy. Spitz reported that Lyoya was killed by a single gunshot from a gun pressed to the back of his skull. During a press conference on April 19, attorney Benjamin Crump highlighted Spitz's finding that, prior to his death, Lyoya had