GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) – Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr has been charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya.
Schurr has turned himself in and is being processed. He is expected to be arraigned on Friday.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced the charges against Schurr on Thursday afternoon, nine weeks after Lyoya was killed during a traffic stop in Grand Rapids.
Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents Lyoya’s family, said in Detroit Thursday afternoon “there will be no celebration."
Becker said he had informed Lyoya’s family of the charges over the phone before holding his news conference Thursday afternoon. Johnson says the call came about five minutes before Becker's press conference.
Johnson said it "was crystal clear" that charges needed to be filed. He noted this is just the second case he has been involved in that he has seen charges brought against a police officer.
The prosecutor says the shooting meets all the standards for the second degree murder charge, including that "the death was not justified or excused -- for example, by self defense."
Becker said Thursday he didn’t charge Schurr with felony firearm because Michigan law prevents it from being used in a case of an officer using deadly force.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said during a Thursday afternoon news conference he has begun the process of having Schurr fired from the department.
The charges come a little more than two months after Schurr stopped Lyoya on the southeast side of Grand Rapids on April 4. Lyoya, who was found to have had a BAC more than three times the legal limit at the time of his death, got out of his car and eventually tried to get away from Schurr.
A struggle ensued and the officer deployed his taser, before ultimately firing his gun and shooting Lyoya in the back of the head while the two were struggling on the ground.
Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest details on this developing story.
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