The Court of Appeals denied the request from Christopher Schurr’s defense team to reconsider its earlier opinion stating that Schurr should stand trial for the 2022 killing of Patrick Lyoya.
A circuit court had decided earlier not to dismiss the charges.
On January 25th, the court ruled 2 to 1 that it agreed there was “sufficient evidence presented at the preliminary examination to establish probable cause that the defendant’s actions did not satisfy the standards for use of deadly force in self-defense.”
Schurr, who is white, was charged with second-degree murder after shooting Congolese immigrant Lyoya in the back of the head while on top of him during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022 in Grand Rapids. According to video of the incident, the shooting was preceded by a short chase and struggle.
In the ruling, the appeals court stated, “The video evidence showed Lyoya physically resisting defendant’s efforts to subdue him, but the video did not depict Lyoya physically attacking defendant, such as by punching him or striking him with his knee.”
It continued, “The video evidence also established that defendant had successfully forced Lyoya facedown to the ground again and was positioned on top of him when he pulled his firearm.”
Schurr’s defense has asked for the murder charge to be thrown out saying that the law allows the use of deadly force “to stop a felon from fleeing when the officer reasonably believed a felony had occurred.”