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Grand
Rapids
Police
Officer
Christopher
Schurr
stops to
talk
with a
resident,
Wednesday,
August
12,
2015, in
Grand
Rapids,
Mich.
Grand
Rapids
police
have
identified
Schurr
as the
officer
who
killed
Patrick
Lyoya
three
weeks
ago.
Lyoya
was a
Black
man and
native
of Congo
who was
fatally
shot in
the back
of the
head
after a
struggle
with the
officer.
Police
Chief
Eric
Winstrom
had
declined
to name
the
officer
but
changed
course
Monday,
April
25,
2022. He
says
he's
doing it
in the
"interest
of
transparency"
and to
reduce
speculation.
(Emily
Rose
Bennett/The
Grand
Rapids
Press
via AP) |
|
Michigan
police
officer
identified
in fatal
shooting
of Black
man
By Tyler
Clifford;
Editing
by Frank
McGurty
and
Aurora
Ellis
reuters.com
GRAND
RAPIDS -
Authorities
on
Monday
identified
Christopher
Schurr
as the
police
officer
who
fatally
shot
Patrick
Lyoya, a
26-year-old
Black
man,
during a
traffic
stop in
Grand
Rapids,
Michigan,
earlier
this
month,
days
after
his
family
and
mourners
called
for him
to be
named at
a
memorial
service.
"In the
interest
of
transparency,
to
reduce
on-going
speculation,
and to
avoid
any
further
confusion,
I am
confirming
the name
already
publicly
circulating
–
Christopher
Schurr –
as the
officer
involved
in the
April 4
Officer
Involved
Shooting,"
Grand
Rapids
Police
Chief
Eric
Winstrom
said.
The
statement
comes
almost
two
weeks
after
law
enforcement
made
video
footage
of the
killing
available
to the
public.
Winstrom
added
that the
department
would
release
more
information
regarding
the
incident
later
this
week.
Register
now for
FREE
unlimited
access
to
Reuters.com
Schurr
is
currently
on
administrative
leave as
the
Michigan
State
Police
investigate
whether
he
should
face
criminal
charges.
The
department
did not
say how
long he
has
served
on the
force,
though
local
media
MLive
reported
he has
been
with the
department
for
seven
years.
Lyoya's
family
is
calling
for
authorities
to
dismiss
the
officer
from the
force
and file
criminal
charges
against
him.
Lyoya,
who was
driving
on April
4, was
pulled
over by
the
officer
who said
he ran
the
car's
license
plate
and that
it did
not
match
the
vehicle,
according
to the
released
video.
It shows
Lyoya
stepping
out of
the car
and
seemingly
confused
as the
policeman
repeatedly
asks for
a
driver's
license
and
orders
him to
get back
inside
the
vehicle.
Lyoya
then
attempts
to walk
away as
the
officer
attempts
to
handcuff
him.
Following
a short
foot
chase,
the two
men
grapple
on the
lawn, at
one
point
wrestling
over the
officer's
stun
gun.
Schurr
then
drew his
gun
while on
top of
Lyoya
and
fired
one shot
in the
back of
his
head,
video
footage
shows.
A
forensic
pathologist
who
performed
an
independent
autopsy
on Lyoya
said he
was shot
once by
a gun
that was
held to
the back
of his
head.
The
death of
Lyoya, a
Congolese
refugee,
touched
off
protests
in Grand
Rapids
by
activists
who say
it
represents
the
latest
example
of
police
violence
against
young
Black
men.
Civil
rights
attorney
Ben
Crump
came to
represent
the
Lyoya
family
while
civil
rights
activist
Al
Sharpton
delivered
a eulogy
for
Lyoya on
Friday.
"That is
now
scientific
evidence
of this
tragic
killing
where
his
family
believes
was an
execution,"
Crump
said of
the
autopsy.
Register
now for
FREE
unlimited
access
to
Reuters.com
Reporting
by Tyler
Clifford;
Editing
by Frank
McGurty
and
Aurora
Ellis
Our
Standards:
The
Thomson
Reuters
Trust
Principles.
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