Mistrial: Murder trial of Michigan police officer Christopher Schurr ends in hung jury

GRAND RAPIDS — 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.

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.