GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) 鈥� A prosecutor filed a second-degree murder charge Thursday against the Michigan police officer who killed a Black man who was on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head following an intense physical struggle recorded on a bystander's phone.
Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker announced his decision against Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr, who killed Lyoya minutes after a traffic stop on April 4. Video from a passenger in the car captured the final chilling moments.
Schurr fired the , demanding that the 26-year-old refugee from Congo 鈥渓et go鈥� of the officer's Taser.
鈥淭he death was not justified or excused, for example, by self defense,鈥� the prosecutor said, reciting the elements of second-degree murder.
Schurr, who is white, told Lyoya that he stopped his car because the license plate didn鈥檛 match the vehicle. Roughly a minute later, Lyoya began to run after he was asked to produce a driver鈥檚 license.
Schurr caught him quickly, and the two struggled across a front lawn in the rain before the fatal shot.
Defense lawyers said the shooting was not 鈥渕urder but an unfortunate tragedy鈥� during a volatile situation.
鈥淢r. Lyoya gained full control of a police officer鈥檚 weapon while resisting arrest, placing Officer Schurr in fear of great bodily harm or death,鈥� Matt Borgula and Mark Dodge said in a written statement.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said he would recommend Schurr be fired, though he is entitled to a hearing and the ultimate decision would be up to the city manager. Schurr has been on leave since the shooting.
Becker said he consulted experts from outside Michigan about the use of force in the case. He informed Lyoya's parents about the charge before holding a news conference and also sent a letter in Swahili, their native language.
Across the state in Detroit, Peter Lyoya watched the announcement with his lawyer, Ven Johnson, and said he was pleased with the decision.
鈥淲e strongly believed there was no justice in America, until today,鈥� Peter Lyoya said. 鈥淲hat I want is the final justice for my son."
Another family lawyer, Ben Crump, said the murder charge was the right call, adding: 鈥淥fficer Schurr must be held accountable.鈥�
Schurr turned himself in and was being held at a jail outside Kent County ahead of a court appearance Friday.
His personnel file shows no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs.
Black community activists had accused Becker, a Republican, of being too close to police and urged him to give the case to the Michigan attorney general, a Democrat, to avoid even the appearance of a conflict. But the prosecutor declined.
鈥淓verybody thinks prosecutors are an arm or just a branch of police. And we're not,鈥� Becker told reporters. 鈥淲e are our own entity. We have a duty to enforce the law. We work a lot with them but we don鈥檛 work for them.鈥�
Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit.
The shooting turned into an immediate crisis for Winstrom, who was a commander in Chicago before taking charge in Grand Rapids early in March. Over Becker's objections, he released on April 13.
At a community forum that same month, Winstrom said he wanted to put more emphasis on officers knowing how to turn down the heat during tense situations.
鈥淭his is going to be a difficult time for the police department,鈥� he said after the murder charge was announced. 鈥淲e鈥檒l get through it.鈥�
Lyoya鈥檚 killing by an officer came after numerous others in recent years involving Black people, including whose killing in Minneapolis who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and who was killed in North Carolina.
Robert Womack, a Kent County commissioner who is Black, said bystander video of Lyoya's death was critical in the prosecutor's decision to charge Schurr. The officer wore a and was found on the ground, possibly dislodged during the struggle.
Womack wondered 鈥渉ow many Black lives have been lost in the past without justice鈥� because of a lack of video.
鈥淒ays like this show we can believe in a process,鈥� he said of the justice system.
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White reported from Detroit. Corey Williams in Detroit and Don Babwin in Chicago contributed.
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Find the AP鈥檚 full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya:
John Flesher And Ed White, The Associated Press
