Michigan police chief IDs officer responsible for killing Patrick Lyoya
The Grand Rapids, Michigan police officer who shot and killed 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya, a Black refugee from Congo, has been identified.
Officer Christopher Schurr, 31, fatally shot Lyoya in the back of the head on April 4, said Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom. Schurr, who is white, has been working with the department for seven years, The Associated Press said, "after starring as a pole vaulter at a small college and marrying his longtime girlfriend during a church mission trip to Africa."
Officials say Schurr's name had been circulating following a viral video of him seemingly in a confrontation with Lyoya during a traffic stop for a license plate violation. "Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head," AP reports. The involved officer wasn't publicly identified until three days after Lyoya's funeral, as family members and community activists demanded the information released.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the video, Schurr is seen on top of Lyoya demanding he take his hand off the police Taser. After Lyoya's family requested an autopsy, a forensic pathologist determined the officer's gun was pressed into his head when he was shot.
Winstrom said he released Schurr's name "in the interest of transparency, to reduce ongoing speculation, and to avoid any further confusion."
Schurr is on administrative leave as the incident is investigated.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelsee Majette has worked as a social media editor at The Week since 2022. In 2019, she got her start in local television as a digital producer and fill-in weather reporter at NTV News. Kelsee also co-produced a lifestyle talk show while working in Nebraska and later transitioned to 13News Now as a digital content producer.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 23, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - qualifications, tax cuts, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Long summer days in Iceland's highlands
The Week Recommends While many parts of this volcanic island are barren, there is a 'desolate beauty' to be found in every corner
By The Week UK Published
-
The Democrats: time for wholesale reform?
Talking Point In the 'wreckage' of the election, the party must decide how to rebuild
By The Week UK Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Bodycam shows deputy killing Black woman
Speed Read An Illinois deputy fatally shot Sonya Massey, who had called 911 about suspected trespassers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published