Ex-police officer, Christopher Schurr, will face a murder trial for fatally shooting unarmed Black Michigan motorist Patrick Lyoya.
According to CNN, Schurr will reportedly stand trial for the killing, state District Court Judge Nicholas Ayoub announced in a memo on Oct. 31. The former Grand Rapids Police officer faces a charge of second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.
“The law recognizes that law enforcement officers are required to make split-second decisions of life and death in dangerous and strenuous circumstances,” Ayoub said after last week’s hearing testimony. “The reasonableness of those actions can hardly be fully and fairly judged by one person in a black robe with 20-20 vision of hindsight and from the comfortable and safe vantage point of the high perch of the armor-plated judge’s bench.”
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His decision was reportedly made after seeing the video of Patrick Lyoya’s death in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As such, a jury will decide if Schurr’s use of deadly force was necessary “after a full and fair trial.” If convicted, he could possibly spend life behind bars.
The victim, 26, briefly wrestled with Schurr across a front lawn after fleeing from a traffic stop. He then grappled with the then-officer before Schurr fatally shot him at point-blank range. The disturbing encounter was captured on video in April, as a passenger recorded it in the car with him.
In court on Oct. 28, Grand Rapids police Capt. Chad McKersie claimed that Lyoya had an advantage over the white man during the alleged struggle. However, Ayoub said “[there’s] sufficient evidence from which a jury could conclude that (Schurr) did not reasonably believe that his life was immediately at risk.”
The officer of seven years was fired in June after being charged with murder. An attorney representing Lyoya’s family, on the other hand, Ven Johnson, said a trial would be a step towards “obtaining full and complete justice.”
