A Grand Rapids, MI, police officer is being charged with one count of second-degree murder for the April 4 fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya following a traffic stop.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says his office is charging Officer Christopher. If convicted, Schurr could face life in prison with the possibility of parole, reports FOX17.
Schurr turned himself in at the Calhoun County Correctional Center this afternoon and will be arraigned Friday.
“The elements of second-degree murder are relatively simple. First, there was a death, a death done by the defendant. And then, when the killing occurred, the defendant had one of these three states of mind: an intent to kill, an intent to do great bodily harm, or the intent to do an act that the natural tendency of that act would be to cause death or great bodily harm. And finally, that the death was not justified or excused, for example, by self-defense,” Becker said in a press conference Thursday. “Taking a look at everything that I reviewed in this case, I believe there's a sufficient basis to proceed on a single account of second-degree murder.”
The Grand Rapids Police Department released videos of the shooting April 13 and soon after protesters began to demonstrate, saying they wanted justice for Lyoya, KATU reports.
Video from Schurr’s body-worn camera shows the officer asking Lyoya for his license before Lyoya struggles with the officer and then runs. Schurr gives chase and Lyoya is shown grabbing the officer’s taser prior to the shooting. Cell phone video released by the Grand Rapids Police Department appears to show when the single shot was discharged.
