GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says he won’t retry former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr within the demise of Patrick Lyoya.
“I did not arrive at (the decision) lightly,” Becker stated. “Basically, what it boils down to is I don’t think we reach a different verdict if I do do a retrial in this case.”
A jury beforehand deadlocked in Schurr’s case, unable to resolve whether or not to convict or acquit him of second-degree homicide or, as a second choice, manslaughter. That meant Becker wanted to resolve whether or not he would transfer ahead with the case, in search of to seat one other jury and take a look at once more.
Mistrial: Jury deadlocks in former GRPD officer’s homicide trial in demise of Patrick Lyoya
“I’ll cut right to the chase: I have made the decision not to seek a retrial in the case of Christopher Schurr,” Becker advised reporters at a information convention Thursday morning.
“This is an extremely difficult decision,” he continued. “I looked at everything: I looked at our case. I looked at the defense case. I looked at the arguments that were made. I looked at the jury selection process, because I think that’s one of the biggest things that, going into this, we were thinking about getting a good jury. I even went over and watched more of the trial.”
He stated he didn’t suppose his case can be introduced any completely different in a second trial.
“This (case) came in as clean (during the trial) as I could have expected. I thought we presented a good case. I presented everything I wanted. All the facts were out there that I had. It’s not like I can change anything,” Becker stated.
And, he stated, he didn’t suppose the flaw was the jury.
“I think we had a really good jury. These were very conscientious jurors,” Becker stated. “They paid attention. They asked good questions. They were engaged that entire time.”
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker introduced he won’t be retrying Christopher Schurr within the demise of Patrick Lyoya on Could 22, 2025.
He stated they took the case critically and had been considerate of their deliberations. Initially, he stated, they had been cut up: 4 to convict, 4 to acquit and 4 undecided. That shifted to about 7-5 across the first time the jury stated it could not attain a verdict. They deliberated some extra, however on the finish had been caught at 10 to acquit and two to convict.
“This was not a case with a rogue juror,” Becker stated. “They paid attention. They did a lot to try and arrive at a verdict and they couldn’t arrive at a verdict.”
He stated he couldn’t see that altering.
LYOYA FAMILY: ‘PAUSE ON JUSTICE NOW PERMANENT’
The lawyer representing Patrick Lyoya’s household in a civil wrongful demise swimsuit towards Schurr, stated in an announcement that the choice to not retry meant the household would by no means see justice in a legal courtroom.
“The Lyoya family has not only lost Patrick, but now the hope that former officer Christopher Schurr will ever be held criminally accountable for taking Patrick’s life. With today’s decision, what was once a pause in justice has now become a permanent reality. This is not a verdict nor the outcome the Lyoya family sought,” attorney Ven Johnson stated. “We will continue to stand with the Lyoya family in their pursuit of truth, accountability and justice for Patrick, and are awaiting our day in civil court.”
An undated photograph of Patrick Lyoya courtesy household.
Lyoya household after mistrial: ‘We will keep fighting until we get justice’
The prosecutor stated he apologized profusely to the Lyoya household.
“I’m very sorry I couldn’t bring it to a conclusion for them. (Lyoya’s father) said, ‘I lost a child.’ And he did,” Becker stated. “I feel for them and I feel for any family that loses a child in a homicide. He’s clearly not happy. I tried to explain it the best I could, but I don’t think there was anything I could say that he was going to be happy about it. And I understand that.”
He stated he is aware of many individuals have sturdy emotions in regards to the case and that he has heard from these in favor of a retrial and people towards it. He stated he couldn’t let that play a task in his determination.
“Looking at everything I have, looking at the facts, quite frankly, I felt there was not a basis to be able to retry this case and have a verdict at the end,” he stated.
He stated his determination shouldn’t be taken as a message to the group and that it was based mostly solely on the details, the regulation and what he thought he may show.
THE CASE
Nobody ever disputed that Schurr, then a Grand Rapids police officer, killed Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The query the jury couldn’t reply was whether or not it was homicide.
“What this boils down to is this was unjustifiable and unreasonable,” the prosecutor advised jurors throughout his opening assertion when the trial started April 28. “It was a crime.”
“This case is about self-defense. This was not murder. This was about self-defense,” protection lawyer Mikayla Hamilton stated throughout her opening state. “(Schurr) acted to save his own life.”
Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr seems on the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids on Could 8, 2025, moments earlier than a mistrial was declared. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)
The taking pictures occurred the morning of April 4, 2022, throughout a site visitors cease on Grand Rapids’ Southeast Aspect. Schurr stated he pulled Lyoya over as a result of his license plate didn’t match is automobile. Lyoya had been consuming earlier than he died, a witness testified, and his blood-alcohol content material was greater than 3 times the authorized restrict to drive, his post-mortem confirmed. Video from the site visitors cease reveals Lyoya operating away from Schurr and an about 2.5-minute battle between the 2, together with them grappling over Schurr’s Taser. In the end, Schurr, who was on prime of Lyoya attempting to carry him down, shot him behind the pinnacle.
“It was happening fast,” Lyoya’s passenger Aime Tuyishime testified on the primary day of the trial.
Wayne Butler, who lives close to the place the taking pictures occurred, testified he noticed it occur.
“This isn’t going to end good,” he recalled considering.
The prosecutor stated the taking pictures was not justified and charged Schurr with second-degree homicide in June 2022. He was fired from the police division.
Schurr claimed self-defense. A sequence of appeals from his authorized crew meant it was greater than three years after Lyoya’s demise that the case lastly went to trial.
A jury of 14 folks — 10 ladies and 4 males — was seated April 23, and the trial acquired underway April 28. After a trial that lasted a few week and included testimony from witnesses, investigators, specialists and Schurr himself, the case went to the jurors.
After they deliberated for about 21 hours, they advised the decide on Could 8 they had been hopelessly deadlocked. The decide declared a mistrial.
Becker stated then he was not going to hurry the choice on whether or not to retry, but additionally stated he wouldn’t let it dag out out of respect for the household and group.
Schurr’s protection lawyer, Matthew Borgula, beforehand stated after the mistrial that he didn’t suppose the case ought to have been tried within the first place, not to mention retried.
