GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Testimony is set to continue Tuesday in the trial of Christopher Schurr, the former Grand Rapids police officer charged in the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya.
Schurr is charged with second-degree murder, which, in Michigan, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
On April 4, 2022, Schurr shot Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese refugee, in the back of the head during a traffic stop. As seen through body camera and dash camera videos from the incident — as well as a cell phone video recorded by a bystander — the two had been struggling over Schurr's taser in the front yard of a residence in a southeast Grand Rapids neighborhood.
While the former officer's lawyers claim he acted self-defense, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says Schurr's actions were not justified.
Less than a week after Lyoya's death, protesters called for racial justice in a series of large demonstrations throughout Grand Rapids. A number of reforms were later implemented within the Grand Rapids Police Department.
More than three years after the deadly shooting, a jury of Schurr's peers will now determine his guilt — or innocence — in the second-degree murder case.
LIVE UPDATES (Tuesday, April 29):
1:00 p.m.
Stoughton returns to the courtroom to testify before the jury as an expert in police use of force.
When reviewing tactics used by police officers, Stoughton says he considers risks and rewards.
"Officers work in risk soup," Stoughton said. "They have to make these series of decisions without fully accurate information."
Becker asks if Stoughton "came to certain conclusions" about the actions taken by Schurr during the traffic stop.
Stoughton says yes.
Stoughton says a "reasonable officer" would have stopped the car that Lyoya was driving, given that its license plate did not match its registration.
Continuing, Stoughton says Schurr's "physical grabbing" of Lyoya as the latter walked away from the traffic stop was reasonable.
When Lyoya picked up his pace and ran into a nearby yard, though, Stoughton says Schurr created "some tactical concerns" by disregarding the potential risk posed by the passenger in Lyoya's car.
"We start to run into some issues," Stoughton said.
Stoughton also says it was "feasible" for Schurr to warn Lyoya about deadly use of force.
"There was time," Stoughton said. "Several seconds."
Becker asks if an "objectively reasonable officer" would have made the decision to shoot Lyoya. Borgula objects.
Judge Mims dismisses the jury.
Borgula says Becker has not addressed Schurr's "situation" in his line of questioning, including whether Schurr heard his taser discharge a second time and knew it had no remaining cartridges, which would be relevant as to whether the officer was reasonably in fear for his life.
The jury returns.
Becker again asks his question. Would a reasonable officer in a situation similar to Schurr's have fired his gun?
Stoughton says no.
"In order to justify deadly use of force, there has to be an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm," Stoughton said. "In my opinion, that was lacking in this case."
During his cross-examination, defense attorney Matt Borgula brings up Stoughton's book and an interview he did with WOOD-TV regarding the shooting death of Lyoya.
The interview happened shortly after the incident.
"I want people to be aware of the work that I've done," Stoughton said.
12:15 a.m.
Lunch break. Court will resume at 1:00 p.m.
10:55 a.m.
A professor of law at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Seth Stoughton, is called into the courtroom.
The prosecution and defense disagree over whether Stoughton can be called an expert in use of force. So, without the jury present, the reliability of Stoughton's testimony is questioned.
Stoughton says he studies police tactics and "officer-created jeopardy," a term coined by the Savannah Police Department in the 1990s, referring to when an officer's actions increase risk to themselves.
The term in "generally accepted" by police departments, he says.
A book which Stoughton co-authored, Evaluating Police Uses of Force, includes discussion of officer-created jeopardy.
Stoughton says he has also filed amicus briefs on the topic and has previously testified as an expert on police use of force around "two dozen" times, including a case in Colorado where an officer was convicted of second-degree murder.
"My role as an expert is going to be what's generally accepted [in police practice]," Stoughton said. "The standard of care in policing."
An example of officer-created jeopardy, he says, is when an officer steps in front of a moving vehicle as the risks in the situation — injury or death — are greater than the reward — stopping the vehicle or obstructing its path.
A former police officer himself, Stoughton says he has reviewed the video evidence from the shooting.
Referring to a report he wrote on the incident, Stoughton says officer-created jeopardy played a "relevant role" in the traffic stop, including when Schurr engaged in a foot pursuit with Lyoya and also when Schurr deployed his taser.
Defense attorney Matt Borgula asks if officer-created jeopardy could render irrelevant the fear potentially felt by Schurr during his struggle with Lyoya. Stoughton says no.
Stoughton also says it is not his role to comment on whether Schurr specifically followed the Grand Rapids Police Department's police practices.
Borgula says Stoughton should not be considered an expert witness.
"This is not the context in which it applies," Borgula said about officer-created jeopardy, mentioning the term had never before been considered in a Michigan murder case where self-defense was a part of the defendant's argument.
"It's absolutely dangerous," he said.
Ultimately, Judge Christina Mims disagreed, allowing Stoughton to be considered an expert witness.
"His testimony would be relevant and could help the jurors understand evidence in the case," Judge Mims said.
10:45 a.m.
Morning break. Court will resume in 15 minutes.
9:01 a.m.
An expert on tasers, Bryan Chiles, takes the stand.
Chiles is a senior manager at Axon Enterprise, a developer of technology and weapons for military and law enforcement.
Becker shows Chiles a taser, which he identifies as Axon's TASER 7 model, the same one used by Schurr during the traffic stop.
"When activated, it produces high-voltage pulsing," Chiles said about tasers. "It puts an electrical signal on the muscles and your muscles say, 'Oh, I need to contract.'"
Becker plays a promotional video for the TASER 7 model.
Chiles says the TASER 7 carries two types of cartridges, effective at close range (4 feet) and long range (12-25 feet).
"To create the ideal situation for NMI [neuromuscular incapacitation], you'd need to be at four feet," Chiles said about the model's close range capacity.
Chiles says the effects of the TASER 7 last five seconds.
"There are no long-term impacts," Chiles said about its effect on the human body. "It's really a muscle stimulator. That's really what it is."
Becker asks if tasers are designed to kill people. "No," Chiles says, they are meant to "temporarily incapacitate."
If a taser is deployed at a height or in an "explosive environment," death is a possibility, Chiles says, as falls are the top-ranking cause in taser-related deaths.
"Almost anything can cause death," he says, "If used improperly."
Chiles explains the function of a drive stun.
A drive stun is when a taser is placed against a person, he says, and its trigger is pulled to produce an electrical current that "causes pain" but does not cause the muscles to contract.
Chiles says a drive stun is to be used at close range.
Chiles identifies a piece of evidence as Schurr's TASER 7, which he inspected as part of the Michigan State Police-led investigation into the shooting.
Chiles says "two trigger pulls" deployed both cartridges on Schurr's taser, neither of which led to a successful connection with its target, according to the taser's pulse log.
The first deployment happened as Lyoya pushed the weapon away from his body and the second happened with the weapon pressed into the ground, according to testimony.
Regarding Schurr's Axon body camera, which stopped recording during the struggle, Chiles says a button on the camera was pressed for three seconds, causing it to turn off. This likely happened unintentionally as a result of the physical contact between the then-officer and Lyoya, he says.
During cross-examination from the defense, Chiles says the TASER 7 "could be dangerous" in the hands of an untrained person.
Regarding the drive stun, Chiles agrees when the defense asks if the tactic is "very painful."
"It could temporarily [immobilize]," Chiles says, adding that he would not voluntarily be drive stunned in the eyes, throat or genitals.
After deploying both cartridges, Chiles says Schurr was still "at risk" to NMI as the probes and wires from his taser — on the ground and near the struggling officer and Lyoya — were still active.
For example, if a drive stun were to be successfully used against a target who was also in contact with a previously fired and active probe or wire, incapacitation could be possible, he says.
"If [a police officer] were under of the effects of NMI, then they can't defend themselves or their equipment," Chiles said.
Concluding their cross-examination, the defense asks if Axon would not consider a taser a "less lethal weapon" in the hands of an untrained person.
"That's correct," Chiles says.
8:58 a.m.
Court is in session.
7:10 a.m.
A small crowd of supporters claps for former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr as he and his wife walk into 17th Circuit Court on Tuesday for day two of Schurr's second-degree murder trial.
Shooting death of Patrick Lyoya
SCHURR TRIAL, DAY ONE: Opening statements and witness testimony
For FOX 17's previous coverage of the trial of Christopher Schurr and the death of Patrick Lyoya, click here.