December 8, 2022
Family of Patrick Lyoya Murdered By Police at Traffic Stop Files Lawsuit
The family of a man murdered by a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan filed a civil lawsuit, according to ABC News. The family of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against Christopher Schurr for shooting Lyoya in the back of the head during a traffic stop in April.
Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya, along with attorneys, Ben Crump and Ven Johnson, announced the lawsuit during a press conference on Wednesday. Crump noted that the lawsuit is against both Schurr and the city of Grand Rapids and includes state and federal accounts. The lawsuit contends that Schurr used illegal unnecessary and excessive force and that the city’s policies, practices, and training led to the former police officer using excessive force.
Video footage from Schurr’s vehicle, bodycam and cell phone footage from the passenger in Lyoya’s car captured Schurr shooting Lyoya in the back of his head after he ran during a traffic stop on April 4. Schurr claimed he pulled over Lyoya because his license plate didn’t match his vehicle. After Schurr asked him for his driver’s license, Lyoya ran. Schurr tackled Lyoya, pressed his knee into Lyoya’s back and shot him in the back of the head as he was laying face down.
The lawsuit claims that Schurr profiled the Democratic Republic of the Congo native when he pulled him over, resulting in Lyoya’s death.
Crump also noted that between June 2015 and May 2020, Grand Rapids police officers had 79 citizen complaints for excessive use of force filed against them.
“You have this pattern and practice of excessive force, so when you take ‘driving while Black’ plus excessive force, you end up with Patrick Lyoya being unjustly executed by this Grand Rapids police officer,” Crump said.
Mr. Lyoya said he didn’t watch the footage of his son’s death until the press conference and has continuous nightmares. He added that he hopes the lawsuit prevents other families from suffering the same fate.
“The pain is so deep,” said Lyoya. “The bitterness is so deep to the point that I can even lose my life every time when I think about my son leaving us.”
Schurr was fired in June and charged with second-degree murder. He pled not guilty, and a trial is pending. Johnson noted that it took months to arrest and charge the 31-year-old with murder.
“Two words: about time. What took so long? They knew this was excessive force and they put him on paid leave while the family buried their son in the middle of the rain.”