The Cop Who Killed Patrick Lyoya Is Finally Going to Trial for Murder
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Michigan: Ex-Cop Who Shot Patrick Lyoya to Face Murder Trial
Last updated Nov 02, 2022
Image credit: MLive.com/The Grand Rapids Press/AP/Pool [via ABC]Facts
- Christopher Schurr, a former police officer in Michigan who shot a Black man in the back of the head after pulling over his car, is going to stand trial for second-degree murder, said Judge Nicholas Ayoub on Monday.[1]
- The US judge reached his decision after he heard testimony and viewed a video of the death of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who had run a stop sign when he was pulled over in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[2]
- Lyoya was face down on the ground when Schurr, 31, shot him in the back of the head on April 4 during a scuffle over the officer's Taser. In videos of the event, Lyoya attempts to flee the scene after failing to produce his driver's license — he's then wrestled to the ground as Schurr yells at him to "drop the Taser."[3]
- According to Judge Ayoub, a jury will have the opportunity to decide whether the now-former cop's use of lethal force was legal "after a full and fair trial."[4]
- "The only real debatable question here is whether [the] defendant's actions were justified under the law," he said. The Lyoya family has responded positively to Ayoub's decision to allow a trial.[5]
- Schurr's attorneys have stated that his team was disappointed by the judge's decision, but that the outcome wasn't surprising considering "the extremely low burden at this stage of the proceedings."[6]
Spin
Left narrative
Black people across the US continue to face excessive force and brutality at the hands of law enforcement authorities. Judge Ayoub's ruling marks a decisive victory for civil rights activists and residents who believe Schurr's actions were unjustified and typical of the officers' misconduct in the Grand Rapids Police Department.
Right narrative
The fact that Schurr will face trial only indicates that a low standard of evidence threshold has been met, not that this was necessarily an unjustified use of force. Law enforcement officers are often required to make split-second decisions that can have tragic results. Believing his life to be at risk, Schurr was forced to make a difficult decision that resulted in the tragic death of Lyoya.
Nerd narrative
There is a 2% chance that a large American city will fully abolish their police department before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
