By Ava West
On May 22, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced that he would not retry Christopher Schurr, a former Grand Rapids Police Officer, who had been on trial for murder after testifying that he fatally shot Patrick Lyoya in 2022 as a result of an altercation at a traffic stop.
The trial ended in a deadlocked jury and a mistrial. Becker said in a press conference, “I just don’t see a place where we get 12 people to agree. This has split the community… Looking at everything I had, looking at the facts, quite frankly, I felt there was not a basis to be able to retry this case.”
Becker and the Lyoya family have both expressed their regrets about this outcome and are highly disappointed.
The Lyoya family is moving forward with a civil suit against Schurr, which is currently pending in federal court. The Lyoya family requests “full and fair compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. Punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of this action,” according to the civil complaint.
The family also requested compensation for other reasons such as “loss of Patrick’s financial support” and “reasonable compensation for Patrick’s pain and suffering, while conscious, during the intervening period between the time of his injuries and his death,” as written in the civil suit file.
GRCC Police Academy Director, Bo Peters, did not wish to comment on this case.
