A mistrial was declared Thursday in the trial of a former Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officer in the 2022 shooting of Patrick Lyoya, who was fatally shot after a traffic stop.
Lyoya, 26, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was shot and killed on April 4, 2022, by former officer Christopher Schurr.
Schurr had pulled Lyoya over because his license plate didn't match his car, police said at the time. Lyoya ran when he was asked for his driver’s license and was face down on the ground when he was shot. An independent autopsy found that he had been shot in the back of the head.
Schurr, who was fired in June 2022, was charged with second-degree murder.
Videos of the encounter showed Lyoya and Schurr struggling on the ground, with Lyoya appearing to try to take control of Schurr’s stun gun. Schurr ended up restraining Lyoya with his knee on his back before he shot him, video showed.
His death sparked protests in the city, and his family filed a $100 million federal civil lawsuit against Schurr and Grand Rapids, alleging that Schurr used excessive force. A federal judge dismissed Grand Rapids from the suit in August 2023.
