Lyoya family suing Grand Rapids, former police officer for $100M in shooting death

The family of an African American Congolese immigrant who was fatally shot in April has filed a federal lawsuit seeking $100 million against the City of Grand Rapids and former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Western Michigan on Wednesday, accuses the city and Schurr of multiple civil rights violations, as well as gross negligence and willful misconduct. Cellphone video from the incident shows Schurr, 31, shooting Patrick Lyoya, 26, in the back of the head.

Attorney Ben Crump said at a Wednesday press conference the family is seeking $100 million in the lawsuit.

In addition to pursuing justice and financial compensation for the Lyoya family, Crump said the purpose of this suit, and others like it, is to “raise the value of Black life so it becomes a financial impediment” for police departments to maintain policies that result in excessive use of force and death. 

"Repeatedly these traffic stops end up deadly for Black people … so his son's life won’t be in vain, but more importantly we want it to be a deterrent for the next officer who pulls over a Black motorist," Crump said at the press Wednesday conference.

Schurr's shooting of Lyoya in the back of the head was “objectively unreasonable," according to the lawsuit, which said Lyoya’s death was caused by “illegal and unconstitutional contact.” The suit claims that “no reasonable officer” would have resorted to deadly force in response to Lyoya's attempt to flee a traffic stop.

“Patrick was not armed and posed no threat to Schurr or any other person’s safety,” according to the lawsuit.

“When he shot Patrick in the back of the head, Schurr had no information to support a reasonable suspicion that Patrick was dangerous.”

After Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker charged Schurr with second-degree murder in June, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom recommended the same day that Schurr be suspended and fired. Schurr waived his right to a hearing, and Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington fired him effective June 10.

“We have not yet received the lawsuit and are unable to address the specifics," City of Grand Rapids spokesman David Green said Wednesday. "Upon receipt, we will review the lawsuit and respond appropriately in court.”

In the criminal case against Schurr, his legal team argued that the former officer had acted in accordance with Grand Rapids Police Department protocols and followed the department's use of force guidelines. In October, defense attorney Matt Borgula said "the officer acted reasonably under the totality of the circumstances."

'The pain is do deep'

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday by attorneys Ayanna Hatchett and Johnson of Ven Johnson Law in Detroit on behalf of Lyoya's estate, with his father Peter Lyoya named as the representative. Johnson is the Detroit-based lawyer for the family.

At the press conference, Peter Lyoya sat alongside Johnson and Crump as they explained the lawsuit. Lyoya said he was thankful for the attorneys for helping him to fight for justice for his son, and said he was willing to pursue any route that could provide that justice.

"I don’t want it just to be for me, but I don’t want this to happen to other parents," he said through family friend and translator Israel Siku.

Peter expressed a lingering feeling of bitterness and pain after what happened to his son.

“The pain is so deep … every time I think about my son leaving us," Peter said, as Crump stood behind him with his hand on his shoulder.

"All of you can ask a question, how do you feel to lose a son that is only 26 years old? He didn’t start life yet."

In order to prove its case against the City of Grand Rapids, Johnson said the attorneys will seek to show that the police department's own policies and practices led to Schurr's use of excessive force in the situation.

To support that claim, the attorneys wrote in their lawsuit filing that between June 1, 2015 and May 21, 2021 there were 79 citizen complaints for excessive use of force in Grand Rapids. All but two officers involved in those complaints were cleared by the city, Johnson said.

Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack, who has stood alongside the Lyoya family since April, reiterated that Lyoya's death reflected systemic problems within the Grand Rapids Police Department.

"This is bigger than Christopher Schurr. This has been going on way before Christopher Schurr, but we just want to make sure that after this incident with Christopher Schurr that this doesn't continue," Womack said.

Womack noted that he has already observed organic changes within the department since Lyoya's killing coming from the officers themselves, but said those changes needed to be formalized through policy changes.

"Almost every room I'm in with African Americans in Grand Rapids, when we talk about being stopped for driving while Black, 98% of the people in that room ... have been stopped for driving while Black," he said.

Traffic stop analyzed

The lawsuit also focuses on the nature of the Lyoya traffic stop, when Schurr initially drove past Lyoya going the opposite direction before turning around to pull him over.

"Just as their cars passed each other, Schurr instantly turned around to follow behind Patrick's car," the suit states.

"Seconds later without any discernable ground for reasonable suspicion ... Schurr activated his emergency lights to pull Patrick over."

During the traffic stop, Schurr said he had pulled Lyoya over because the vehicle's registration did not match the license plate on the car. Lyoya's legal team has previously questioned how Schurr could have known the license plate did not match the registration before he turned around to follow Lyoya's car. In Michigan, cars only have license plates on the back of the vehicle.

During the press conference, Crump said "We don’t see them shoot White people in the back of the head for traffic stops."

Johnson and Crump played video obtained from the Michigan State Police through a Freedom of Information Act request that showed Schurr did not call dispatch for details on the vehicle or turn on his lights to pull Lyoya over until well after he made the U-turn and began following his vehicle.

Lyoya fled after being asked for his driver's license, and a brief chase ensued, the video from the Grand Rapids Police Department showed.

The two then wrestled in a nearby lawn with Schurr struggling to bring the man under control. In a separate cellphone video, Lyoya can be seen appearing to reach for the officer's Taser shortly before Schurr shot him in the back of the head while he was facedown on the ground.

Schurr's legal team has argued Lyoya had his hand on the Taser at one point during the encounter, which could have posed a danger to the officer.

In the criminal case, Schurr's attorneys have sought to show that Lyoya could have caused harm to Schurr with the Taser. Johnson countered Wednesday by saying both of the Taser probes had already been deployed. Once the probes of a Taser are deployed the gun itself can still be used to deliver a shock, but it doesn't incapacitate at close distances.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney in Kalamazoo.

Schurr will stand trial for second-degree murder in the slaying of Lyoya. Judge Nicholas Ayoub in Kent County's 61st District Court issued the ruling in October, ordering the charges against Schurr to be bound over to trial.

kruble@detroitnews.com