GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker announced Thursday he will charge Grand Rapids police Officer Christopher Schurr with second-degree murder in the April 4 shooting death of Patrick Lyoya.
Schurr has turned himself in to the Michigan State Police and is expected to be arraigned Friday, Becker said.
Second-degree murder is a felony offense punishable by up to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The Thursday press conference was held at the Michigan State Police 6th District headquarters. The state police have helped Becker in the investigation.
"As it stands now, this is merely an allegation and as with any defendant, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law," Becker said.
"The elements of second-degree murder is relatively simple. First, there was a death, a death done by the defendant. ... The death was not justified or excused, for example, by self-defense. Taking a look at everything that I reviewed in this case, I believe there's a sufficient basis to proceed."
Becker started the announcement extending gratitude to the Lyoya family, adding that they were informed first of the charge and received a written letter explaining it in their native language of Swahili.
"The unimaginable pain and stress and the emotions they must be going through all of this," Becker said. "I deeply appreciate what they've done, especially the calls for peace and calm during this entire time."
The Lyoya family’s attorney, Ven Johnson, said he plans to have a press conference later Thursday at his law offices in downtown Detroit.
Lyoya, 26, was shot and killed by 31-year-old Schurr during a traffic stop in Grand Rapids on April 4. Lyoya ran a short distance from Schurr before a struggle ensued.
Videos of the shooting show Lyoya, who is Black, face down on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head by Schurr, who is white. Just prior to the shooting Lyoya can be seen on video struggling with Schurr over the officer's stun gun.
"At the Department of Attorney General, we understand the exceptional resources needed to evaluate police-involved shooting deaths and I commend Prosecutor Becker, his team and the Michigan State Police for the exhaustive review conducted these last two months. We must now respect the judicial process and allow the facts of the case to be presented in court," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement following the announcement.
The officer’s body camera was turned off during the struggle; however, surveillance footage from nearby homes and a witness who was in the vehicle with Lyoya and captured video, aided the investigation.
In the 20 minutes of released footage by Grand Rapids police, the officer tells Lyoya he was pulled over because his license plate didn't match his vehicle.
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