GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The family of Patrick Lyoya is bracing for trial as a jury will soon decide whether a former Grand Rapids Police officer is guilty of second-degree murder.
Lyoya, a 26-year-old refugee from the Congo, was shot and killed by Officer Christopher Schurr on April 4, 2022.
“As a parent, as a father, the only thing that I will be asking for is just justice for my son-- Justice for Patrick,” Lyoya’s father Peter Lyoya said.
Lyoya’s family plans to attend the criminal trial set to begin April 28th in Grand Rapids.
Jury selection will begin one week prior.
“This case to me is no different than George Floyd,” attorney Ven Johnson said.
Johnson has been by the family’s side since the shooting and is representing them in their civil lawsuit against the city.
Johnson expects Schurr will take the stand in his own defense during the trial.
“Schurr is going to testify,” Johnson said. “He has to. Right? Because only he can talk about his state of mind when he pulled that trigger. While he was on top of Patrick, while Patrick was on the ground and while Schurr had the gun to the back of Patrick’s head.”
In cell phone and body camera video, Schurr and Lyoya are seen struggling for several minutes.
Schurr fired the fatal shot while Lyoya was on the ground, demanding that he “let go” of the officer’s Taser.
Johnson said to expect a lot of technical testimony about the taser during trial.
The prosecution and defense are expected to make arguments about whether the taser was a deadly weapon, if it was operable and if Lyoya had possession of it.
“Even if Schurr is right that Patrick had the taser, it was meaningless,” Johnson said. “It would have done nothing to Schurr.”
In a preliminary hearing, Schurr’s attorneys have argued he acted in self-defense.
Local 4 reached out to Schurr’s attorneys for comment ahead of the trial, but did not hear back.
