“Would it be reasonable for the officer to fear the individual may use the device on them?”
“Yes, that is reasonable.”
Testifying in the second-degree murder trial of former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr, GRPD captain Chad McKersie says he has watched body and dash cam video showing the final seconds of officer Schurr and Patrick Lyoya wrestling on the ground.
“Mr. Lyoya was getting back up and turning toward Officer Schurr. He had complete control of the taser.”
And that’s when Officer Schurr shot and killed Lyoya.
“Was Officer Schurr reasonable to resort to deadly force in this situation?”
“Yes, I believe, in my opinion, he was in fear this device was going to be used against him.”
Schurr is on trial for murder because the Kent County Prosecutor says deadly force was not justified.
Three years ago, Officer Schurr pulled over the car Lyoya was driving because it had another vehicle’s license plate. Lyoya disobeyed commands to remain in the car, did not produce a driver’s license, resisted and ran. There was a struggle, Lyoya got control of the officer’s taser and Schurr shot him.
“Are they required to wait for the individual to actually aim the device at them?”
“No, we don’t have to wait for someone to hurt us to do something.”
