After the Grand Rapids Police Department released the name of the officer that shot Patrick Lyoya, two law enforcement groups are coming to his defense.
Monday the GRPD named Officer Christopher Schurr as the policeman who shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head following a traffic stop, after Lyoya's family and the Rev. Al Sharpton had demanded the policeman's identity be made public during Patrick's funeral on Friday.
While the family has hired Civil Rights lawyer Ben Crump, and the incident involves another case of a white police officer shooting an unarmed black man, the Fraternal Order of Police paints Schurr in a different light.
In a post on Facebook, the group wrote,
"Officer Schurr is a public servant and servant of the Lord. He chose to minister to the people of Kenya and serve those less fortunate than him. For those that don’t know, Chris married the love of his life while on a missions trip (in Africa) Hardly the racist so many of the usual police haters try to portray him as."
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Grand Rapids Police Officers Association police union also came to Schurr's defense, calling the shooting “tragic” but stating on Facebook that,
"An officer “has the legal right to protect themselves...in a volatile dangerous situation such as this, in order to return to his/her family at the end of their shift.”
WGVU reached out for comment but phone calls were not returned.
Meanwhile, Lyoya's legal team is calling on the Kent County Prosecutor's office to file charges. Schurr is currently on Administrative leave as Michigan State Police conduct an investigation.
