GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr will face trial in the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya after the motion to quash was dismissed.
Judge Christina Elmore heard the motion Friday morning, which was filed by Schurr's attorneys in January. The motion to quash would have dismissed the murder charge brought against Schurr, who did not attend the hearing.
Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya back on April 4, 2022. Schurr was captured on cellphone video shooting Lyoya in the back of the head following a traffic stop.
Schurr's attorney, Matt Borgula, argued that Michigan law permitted him to use deadly force against Lyoya, who was fleeing.
After the ruling, Borgula told reporters Lyoya was "violently resisting arrest" and that common law protects Schurr's use of deadly force, saying the deadly traffic stop was "textbook."
"He followed policy and his training every step of the way," Borgula said of Schurr.
“We speak the same language, but we’re not understanding each other. This is very clear,” Becker said of their interpretation of the law. “It's not like we're stuck in 1846. There's been case law in Supreme Court cases that the judge said developed the law over time.”
Becker said the hearing went how he had anticipated.
“It’s about whether the jury should hear the case, and the judge upheld that,” he said.
Becker said he has been in contact with Lyoya's family, who filed their own lawsuit against GRPD and the City of Grand Rapids back in December.
Borgula said he plans to appeal Elmore's decision, which could be taken up by the Court of Appeals. If the Court of Appeals hears the case, the March 13 trial could be postponed.
Schurr's attorneys previously tried to convince Judge Nicholas Ayoub to dismiss the case, but the judge instead bound over the case to Circuit Court to face a jury.
This appeal is something Becker expected, and he filed documents to dismiss the motion to quash on Jan. 24.
Judge Elmore told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that livestreaming the hearing was not permitted. The full hearing can be watched on the 13 ON YOUR SIDE YouTube channel.
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