GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says he will not retry Christopher Schurr in the death of Patrick Lyoya, dropping the second-degree murder charge against the former Grand Rapids police officer.
Schurr fatally shot Lyoya, a 26-year-old black man, in the back of the head as the two struggled over Schurr's taser during an April 2022 traffic stop.
Becker’s decision — announced during a press conference on Thursday — comes two weeks after a mistrial was declared in Schurr’s case after the jury was unable to reach a verdict after four days of deliberation.
If the prosecutor had continued to press the murder charge, the decision would have prepared the way for a retrial of the former officer.
Shooting death of Patrick Lyoya
MISTRIAL: Jurors unable to reach a verdict in trial of Christopher Schurr
"This is an extremely difficult decision," Becker said on Thursday, referencing a prepared statement as he addressed the media. "I know it is extremely disappointing to the family of Patrick Lyoya and many in the community and I did not arrive at this decision lightly."
Becker said he did not believe a retrial would have resulted in a different outcome.
"I put forward the best case I could," he said. "In the end, I do not see the ability to get twelve people to unanimously agree."
When the jurors began their deliberation after closing arguments on May 5, they were evenly split, the prosecutor claimed, with four in favor of guilty, four for innocent and four undecided.
When Judge Christina Mims declared the mistrial on May 8, Becker said the split had shifted 10-2 in favor of acquittal.
"The question in this case then becomes what are the chances of getting a vastly different jury a second time?" Becker said in his statement. "I don't believe it's prudent to retry the case based on the mere hope something drastic will change with a new jury panel and the exact same evidence."
In the past six years, the Kent County Prosecutor's Office has only retried one case after a hung jury.
"This has always been an extremely difficult case," said Becker, adding he stood by the decision to initially charge Schurr with second-degree murder.
He also said he did not seriously consider reducing the charge to voluntary manslaughter in an attempt to increase the chance of a conviction in a retrial.
"At the beginning, I thought it was a second degree murder," Becker said. "I'm going to try it on that or not try it at all."
During the press conference, FOX 17 asked Becker if Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel possessed the power to take control of the criminal case and press a charge against the former officer.
"Technically," Becker said "She never has before, but technically, I think there's always a possibility."
WATCH: Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says he will not retry Christopher Schurr
Christopher Schurr's defense
During a post-trial press conference on the day of the mistrial, Schurr’s legal team claimed the second-degree murder charge should have never been filed in the first place.
"Christopher Schurr never wanted to take a life. I guarantee it," defense attorney Matthew Borgula said. "There really is no winning here. A man died, and that is a very serious thing."
Borgula also claimed the jurors were “overwhelmingly in favor of acquittal.”
Watch: Defense attorney speaks with the media after jury deadlocks
Patrick Lyoya's family
The Lyoya family, who publicly pushed for a second criminal trial, still plans to “get justice” for their son.
"I want [Schurr] to know that he's still carrying the blood of Patrick on him,” said the father of Patrick Lyoya, Peter Lyoya, on the day of the mistrial.
Watch: Lyoya family pledges to fight on after mistrial
A civil lawsuit filed against Schurr is currently pending in federal court after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from the former officer's attorneys.
The Lyoya family’s attorney, Ven Johnson, provided a statement to FOX 17 on Thursday.
"The Lyoya family has not only lost Patrick, but now the hope that former officer Christopher Schurr will ever be held criminally accountable for taking Patrick’s life," Johnson said.
"With today’s decision, what was once a pause in justice has now become a permanent reality," he said. "This is not a verdict nor the outcome the Lyoya family sought."
For FOX 17's previous coverage of the trial of Christopher Schurr and the death of Patrick Lyoya, click here.