GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The criminal case of Christopher Schurr is now closed after the Kent County prosecutor announced Thursday he would not retry the former Grand Rapids police officer for murder in the death of Patrick Lyoya.
Schurr fatally shot Lyoya, a 26-year-old black man, in the back of the head as the two struggled over his taser during an April 2022 traffic stop.
A civil case against Schurr remains.
Shooting death of Patrick Lyoya
Christopher Schurr will not be retried, prosecutor drops murder charge
Filed in federal court on behalf of the family of Patrick Lyoya, the lawsuit alleges the former officer violated Lyoya's constitutional rights by use of excessive force.
"No reasonable officer would have responded to Patrick's get away from a traffic stop as a reasonable basis to use deadly force," the civil complaint, filed in December 2022, reads.
To read the full civil lawsuit, click here.
Notably, the burden of proof in a civil case is "substantially less," according to an attorney.
"They're different cases; they're different standards," said attorney Randall Levine of Levine & Levine Attorneys at Law, who spoke with FOX 17 on Friday.
In Schurr's criminal case, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker had to prove the charge of second-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ultimately, the jury in the trial was unable to unanimously agree on whether Becker met this standard, leading to a hung jury and a mistrial.
In a civil case, though, the plaintiff only needs to prove their version of events is more likely than the defendant's, a term referred to as the "preponderance of evidence."
"The preponderance standard is basically just a tipping of the scales — more likely than not — which is substantially less difficult than proving beyond a reasonable doubt," Levine said.
The attorney says the evidence presented in Schurr's civil case will "overlap" with the criminal case. He also believes a settlement is "likely."
"Very few cases are actually tried," Levine said about civil lawsuits.
When the suit was initially filed, the city of Grand Rapids was also listed as a defendant. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney has since removed the municipality from the suit, ruling the Lyoya family's attorney did not prove the connection between the Grand Rapids Police Department's training and policy and Schurr's actions.
Judge Maloney also ruled Schurr is not necessarily protected in the case by qualified immunity, which prevents government officials, including police officers, from being sued for reasonably performing their duties.
Schurr's legal team appealed the judge's decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied their petition in April.
A scheduling conference in the civil case is set for June 17.
For FOX 17's previous coverage of the trial of Christopher Schurr and the death of Patrick Lyoya, click here.