Delusional Grand Rapids Police Argue that Shooting Patrick Lyoya in the Back of the Head Doesn’t Establish Probable Cause for Murder. Will the White Judge Agree?

From [HERE] Footage shown in court of Patrick Lyoya’s fatal encounter with a now-former Grand Rapids police officer has been emotionally difficult on relatives present, an attorney for the Lyoya family said.

“It’s terribly taxing for the family,” said Tom Waun, a managing partner with Ven Johnson Law, the firm representing the Lyoya family. “They’re obviously very sad that they have to see this video over and over and over again of their son, and their brother, being killed. It’s terrible for them.”

But Wuan said it’s important to the family that they’re present for the proceedings.

“They’re here for justice,” he said. “They want to make sure that the right thing happens. They want people to know that they’re very involved, that they care, so that’s why they’re here.”

Wuan spoke with reporters Friday, Oct. 28, at the conclusion of the second and final of testimony in the preliminary examination to determine if probable cause exists to bind former police officer Christopher Schurr over for trial on a murder charge in Kent County Circuit Court.

Footage shown a handful of times over the preliminary examination showed the moment Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head.

Grand Rapids District Judge Nicholas Ayoub, who presided over the hearing, will issue a written opinion Monday, Oct. 31, on whether or not he will bind Schurr over.

Schurr, 31, is charged with second-degree murder for the April 4 shooting death of Lyoya.

Then a Grand Rapids police officer, Schurr shot Lyoya after a traffic stop on Nelson Avenue SE, just north of Griggs Street, during a struggle for control of the officer’s Taser. Schurr was on top of Lyoya and yelled “drop the Taser” before he pulled his gun and shot Lyoya in the head.

The final witness of the hearing – brought in by the defense – was a Grand Rapids police captain who testified the shooting was justified and that Schurr followed department policy.

Wuan pushed back on the captain’s assessment, saying his firm has retained other experts who dispute it.

“We have already retained two different police policy practices and procedure people who talk about excessive force who say he’s dead wrong,” Wuan said.

Lyoya’s family, through Ven Johnson Law, plans to file a civil lawsuit in the death. [MORE]