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The family of Patrick Lyoya pledged Thursday to continue fighting for justice after a Kent County jury failed to reach a verdict in the criminal trial of former Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr, prompting a mistrial.
At a press conference hours after the mistrial was declared, Lyoya’s parents expressed disappointment and pain, saying Schurr showed no remorse for fatally shooting their son in the back of the head during a traffic stop in April 2022.
“We’re not going to be tired until we find justice for our son,” said Lyoya’s mother, Dorcas Lyoya, through an interpreter. “I thought the first thing he was going to say is, ‘Sorry.’ But it seemed like he didn’t care he had taken the life of a human being. He acted like he killed an animal.”
Her husband, Peter Lyoya, said Schurr appeared to be “joyful and happy for what he did,” adding, “That was painful for me and our family. He is carrying the blood of Patrick.”
Schurr, 34, had been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of the 26-year-old Congolese immigrant. After four days of deliberations, jurors told 17th Circuit Judge Christina Mims they were hopelessly deadlocked.
It’s now up to Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker to decide whether to retry the case.
Civil rights attorney Ven Johnson, who represents the Lyoya family in a separate wrongful death lawsuit, urged Becker to move forward with a new trial.
“We encourage Prosecutor Becker to remain alongside this family and to move forward with a retrial because we believe this officer should be brought to criminal justice,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that Becker met privately with the family after the mistrial and said he has not yet decided whether to bring the case back before a jury.
The mistrial does not impact the civil case, Johnson said, since the legal threshold is lower than in a criminal trial.
“We are ready, willing, and able to move forward with the prosecution of our civil case,” he said.
Johnson also criticized how authorities have portrayed Lyoya since the shooting.
“When you create a danger by doing something against your training, you can't then turn around and blame Patrick,” he said. “That’s what this case was from the beginning. They blamed Patrick for everything.”
Despite the setback in court, Peter Lyoya said he remains hopeful.
“I don’t really worry at all about this because I know Patrick will get justice,” he said. “As long as we are here, we will fight and get justice for Patrick.”
