GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Testimony from witnesses called by the defense is continued Friday in the trial of Christopher Schurr, the former Grand Rapids police officer charged in the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya.
Schurr is charged with second-degree murder, which, in Michigan, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
On April 4, 2022, Schurr shot Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese refugee, in the back of the head during a traffic stop. As seen through body camera and dash camera videos from the incident — as well as a cell phone video recorded by a bystander — the two had been struggling over Schurr's taser in the front yard of a residence in a southeast Grand Rapids neighborhood.
While the former officer's lawyers claim he acted self-defense, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says Schurr's actions were not justified.
Less than a week after Lyoya's death, protesters called for racial justice in a series of large demonstrations throughout Grand Rapids. A number of reforms were later implemented within the Grand Rapids Police Department.
More than three years after the deadly shooting, a jury of Schurr's peers will now determine his guilt — or innocence — in the second-degree murder case.
LIVE UPDATES (Friday, May 2):
4:45 p.m.
Court is in recess. Testimony will resume at 9:00 a.m. on Monday.
4:03 p.m.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker begins his cross-examination of Lewis Kliem.
"Force Science is a business, right?" Becker asks.
Kliem says yes.
Becker asks if Kliem has described himself a "a cop with a law degree."
Kliem says yes.
"You give police officers the presumption of regularity. The benefit of the doubt, if you will," Becker asks.
Kliem agrees.
"That's not unbiased, right?" Becker asks.
"No, I am not unbiased," Kliem says.
"There's not a cop out there that you would not defend. Those are your words," Becker says.
"That's absolutely not true," Kliem says.
Becker brings up a number of articles written by Kliem, published on Force Science's website, including "Homicidal Empathy: An Evolving Threat to Police Officers" and "The Expert Trap: Protecting Police from Unreasonable Expectations."
"My articles are great, yes. I'd adopt those," Kliem says.
Becker asks if the police officer is correct "98 percent of the time," referencing a podcast on which Kliem appeared.
"Overwhelmingly," Kliem says, "Police officers are correct in their decision-making."
Becker questions the possibility of the statistic.
Becker says Kliem has been criticized in "the mainstream media," including the New York Times.
"You're okay with that, because that means you're over the target, doesn't it?" Becker said.
Becker returns to a statement from another one of Kliem's writings: "If police are racist, abusive and corrupt, then it makes sense to mandate body cameras."
Kliem says he wrote the sentence.
Kliem says he is okay with civilian oversight of the police.
"It's your mission right now to be here. You're the tip of the spear, you said that," Becker asks.
Kliem says Force Science's arguments need to be tested in court.
Becker references Kliem's report on the shooting, which stated Schurr may have felt "superhuman" resistance from Lyoya.
Kliem says he did not intend to use the word literally.
"You're a lawyer right?" Becker asks. "Lawyers use words."
"The word superhuman was probably not the best choice of words," Kliem says.
3:51 p.m.
Afternoon break. Court will resume in ten minutes.
2:23 p.m.
The director of consulting and communications at Force Science, a company that trains police officers and attorneys how to evaluate use of force cases, Lewis Kliem, takes the stand.
"Human performance issues," Kliem says, "Are really the point of evaluating the case."
Judge Mims allows for Kliem to be considered an expert in police practices, tactics, policy and use of force.
Kliem says he does not agree with the methodology of Stoughton and Bloomfield's analyses of the case, saying the two expert witnesses called by the prosecution do not apply human performance factors and do not take into account the officer's perspective at the time.
"It's very difficult to look at a video and determine what an officer was feeling or thinking," Kliem says.
Defense attorney Mikayla Hamilton asks if Kliem has reviewed video evidence and other records of the shooting.
Kliem says yes.
Hamilton asks if a reasonable officer would have used deadly force on a suspect if they were in a situation similar to Schurr's.
Kliem says yes.
"Officers are not trained to wait until someone points a gun at them," Kliem said.
Kliem adds that, in his opinion, Lyoya displayed intent to use the taser against Schurr, claiming the former transitioned the device to his dominant hand for the purpose of disarming the latter.
Regarding the reasonableness of Schurr's foot pursuit, Kliem says he also disagreed with the prior testimonies of Stoughton and Bloomfield, which claimed Schurr put himself at risk when he chased after Lyoya, disregarding a passenger in the car.
"There is no prohibition of an officer doing that," Kliem said. "You do not have time to do that math problem in real time."
Hamilton asks about generally accepted police practices.
"I can tell you what it's not," Kliem says. "That's not a standard by which we hold officers accountable to."
"They are not the standards by which you'd judge an officer who has never even heard of those standards," Kliem adds.
Hamilton asks whether national or local standards in policing are more important in evaluating an officer's actions.
"The binding policy, the binding expectations on the officer are what they're trained against," Kliem says.
Hamilton ends her direct examination of the witness.
2:11 p.m.
Afternoon break. Court will resume in ten minutes.
1:02 a.m.
A consultant for police practices, David Blake, takes the stand.
Defense attorney Matthew Borgula asks for Blake to be considered an expert in human factor psychology and police practices.
Becker objects.
After a number of questions from Becker, Judge Mims allows Blake to be considered an expert in his field.
Borgula asks if Blake heard prior testimony from Nicholas G. Bloomfield, an expert witnesses called by the prosecution who commented on auditory exclusion, a term that refers to when a person's hearing abilities are blunted in high-stress situations. As part of his testimony, Bloomfield claimed a reasonable officer would have heard the second discharge of Schurr's taser.
Blake says yes, he had heard the testimony.
Borgula asks if Blake agrees with Bloomfield.
Blake says no.
"This is exactly the situation [that would cause auditory exclusion]," Blake said.
Blake says he also disagrees with prior expert witness testimony from Seth Stoughton, who claimed Schurr had "several seconds" to warn Lyoya before using deadly force against him.
"The immediacy of the threat doesn't allow for that," Stoughton said.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker cross-examines, calling into question the credibility of Blake's doctorate degree, which he obtained from the University of Phoenix.
11:53 a.m.
Lunch break. Court will resume at 1:00 p.m.
10:37 a.m.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker begins his cross-examination of Christopher Schurr.
Becker asks why the then-officer initiated the traffic stop.
"You're saying to right turns are suspicious?" Becker asks.
"In that manner... it does seem suspicious," Schurr says.
Becker shows Schurr a typed statement the officer made to Michigan State Police a few weeks after the shooting.
"You had time to think about what happened?" Becker asks.
"Yes," Schurr says.
Becker plays video evidence from the traffic stop.
Becker asks why Schurr testified that Lyoya had "balled fists" but didn't reference them in his statement.
Schurr says he has seen video evidence of the traffic stop multiple more times since the filing the statement.
Becker asks why Schurr did not testify that Lyoya looked like he was running away, despite saying so in his statement.
"You never said he assaulted you. You never said he punched you. You never said he kicked you," Becker says, referencing Schurr's statement.
"You're not saying he did anything else but to try and get away," Becker says.
Schurr disagrees.
Becker moves to discussion of the taser.
"[Lyoya] grabbed your taser and moved it away from him because he didn't want to get tased, right?" Becker asks.
Becker then reads a portion of Schurr's statement to MSP, which said Lyoya grabbed the taser and moved it away from him in attempt to not get tased.
Becker plays a portion of video evidence from the struggle.
"You're in pretty good shape?" Becker asks, referencing Schurr's track and field history.
"Yes," Schurr says.
"You knew there was another person in that car?" Becker asks.
"Yes," Schurr says.
"There could be guns in that car," Becker says.
"Correct," Schurr says.
Becker asks if GRPD policy allows its officers to disengage from a foot chase in order to gain a tactical advantage.
Schurr says yes, but adds GRPD officers are taught to "affect an arrest."
Becker reads a portion of GRPD's use of force policy in effect at the time of the shooting, which states the "exhaustion" of an officer can necessitate the use deadly force.
"Simply committing a felony isn't enough to use deadly force," Becker says.
Schurr agrees.
"Ignoring your commands isn't enough to use deadly force," Becker says.
Schurr agrees.
"You can't even say that Lyoya was pointing the taser at you?" Becker asks.
Schurr says yes, but adds he perceived Lyoya's hand was on the weapon's safety switch.
"I saw the red," he said.
Becker asks what Schurr heard and saw during the incident.
Schurr agrees he was aware of witness to the struggle, the passenger in the car, the first discharge of the taser and the absence of police sirens from patrol cars en route to the incident.
"At no time was Patrick ever on top of you," Becker asks.
"Yes," Schurr says.
"He was trying to get away from you," Becker says.
"Up until the end," Schurr says.
"You thought he was going to turn the taser on you," Becker says.
"That's what I believed," Schurr says, adding he believed the taser could cause death.
Becker asks if Schurr is aware of any GRPD officers who have been seriously injured or killed by a taser.
"Not that I'm aware of," Schurr says.
"[Lyoya] never put his hand on your gun. He never touched your gun," Becker asks.
"I shot him because I believed he was going to use it on me," Schurr says. "If I didn't, I believe I wouldn't be here today."
"But he's not here, is he?" Becker asks.
Becker ends his cross examination.
Defense attorney Mark Dodge returns for follow-up questions.
Dodge asks if Schurr experienced trauma as a result of the shooting.
Schurr says yes.
"Do you remember every detail of what happened during that video?" Dodge asks.
"No," Schurr says.
"Is a physical fight different than sprints or going to the gym?" Dodge asks.
"Yes," Schurr says.
"Are you trained to go all out to try to apprehend persons?" Dodge asks.
"Yes," Schurr says.
"In your mind, are you going off of what you've been trained on the [taser] and what should happen if someone takes that away from you?" Dodge asks.
"Yes," Schurr says.
Becker returns for follow-up questions and again asks if Lyoya punched or kicked Schurr.
Schurr says no.
Dodge returns for additional follow-ups.
Schurr says he "was not trained" to wait and see what a suspect would do with a taser.
A juror asks why Schurr shot Lyoya in the head.
Schurr says his aim "ended up" there.
10:21 a.m.
Morning break. Court will resume in 15 minutes.
8:44 a.m.
Christopher Schurr takes the stand
Schurr says public speaking is "not one of my strengths" but says he feels it's important to "get my side of the story out."
Schurr says his parents and siblings are present in court.
Defense attorney Mark Dodge asks Schurr about his relationship with his wife.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker objects to this testimony, saying it's not relevant.
Judge Mims sustains the objection.
Schurr says he was a sprinter at Sienna Heights University, a private Catholic university in Adrian, Michigan.
"Why did you pick police work?" Dodge asks.
"It's never the same every day," Schurr says. "I got to help people."
Schurr says he completed his police training through the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) program at Lansing Community College.
"Are the situations that police encounter, are [they] always safe?" Dodge asks.
"Typically not," Schurr says.
Schurr says he was hired by GRPD and took part in the department's eight-week, in-house training.
"Are you trained that there's only one way to effectively perform a task?" Dodge asks.
"The way I handle something is going to be different from the way someone else handles something," Schurr says.
Dodge turns to Schurr's taser training with GRPD and plays a video of Schurr being voluntarily tased by a master taser instructor with the department.
Schurr says he felt "excruciating pain," and adds he did not feel he had the ability to defend himself while "taking the ride."
If a suspect were to take his taser and incapacitate him, Schurr says it would take a "second" for that suspect to take his firearm.
Dodge discusses the drive stun, a term that refers to when an officer presses their taser up against a person as a form of pain compliance. A drive stun can also be used to "close the loop" with a taser probe(s) to achieve neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI). As Schurr and Lyoya struggled over Schurr's taser during the traffic stop, both of the weapon's cartridges were fired, according to testimony, meaning the weapon could only be used in a drive stun.
Schurr says he previously drive stunned a suspect to "close the circuit" and achieve NMI.
At the time of the shooting, Schurr says he had been exercising "five to six" times a week.
"I just think it's important. We are required to back up our partners and assist people on calls. Unfortunately, part of our jobs is we have to go hands on with people," Schurr said.
Also at the time of the shooting, Schurr says GRPD officers had to "worry about gun violence, drugs and stolen cars."
Regarding the traffic stop, Schurr says he noticed Lyoya's car was driving "slowly" and had made an "abrupt right turn."
At that point, Schurr says he ran the car's license plate and found the plate did not match the car's registration. He then made a traffic stop and announced it on his police radio.
"I'm calling out the traffic stop to let my teammates know where I'm at," Schurr said.
Regarding the moment Lyoya, who was driving the vehicle, stepped out of it during the traffic stop, Schurr said such situations "definitely raise our stress level."
Schurr says he did not immediately arrest Lyoya because he wanted to give him the "benefit of the doubt."
"Can a driver just walk away from a police officer in this situation," Dodge asks.
"No," Schurr says.
Schurr agrees when Dodge says the situation turned into "somewhat of a tussle" when Lyoya failed to produce his license plate and began to walk away from the officer.
"My experience is that when people run, it's typically associated to a felony offense," Schurr says.
Schurr says no GRPD policy prohibits officers from engaging in a foot chase, adding that he had previously been involved in about "thirty or forty" solo foot chases.
Dodge brings up when Schurr when commended by GRPD for his performance in foot chases.
Becker objects. He says Judge Mims already ruled this information was not relevant to the case.
Judge Mims sustains the objection.
Dodge returns to discussion of the traffic stop.
Schurr says he pursued Lyoya and tackled him on a "grassy" spot.
Schurr says he was not able to keep Lyoya on the ground and then engaged in knee strikes in an attempt to regain control and arrest him.
"Were you trying to injure him?" Dodge asks.
"No," Schurr says.
"Were you mad or upset at this driver?" Dodge asks.
"No," Schurr says.
Dodge plays a portion of video evidence of the struggle between Schurr and Lyoya.
Schurr appears to wipe tears away from his eyes.
Dodge asks if GRPD training tells officers to "stay engaged" with suspects resisting arrest.
Schurr says yes.
"I'm wondering why he's fighting so hard," Schurr says.
Schurr says he was "completely exhausted" during the struggle.
"I felt I could hardly pick up my legs," Schurr said.
Given his physical state and the "ineffective" nature of the leg strikes against Lyoya, Schurr says deploying his taser made the "most sense" to him.
Schurr says Lyoya never let go of his taser.
"Is disarming a police officer, is that a pretty serious scenario?" Dodge asks.
"Yes," Schurr says.
Schurr says his GRPD training taught him that, in situations where a suspect attempts to disarm an officer, the suspect intends to use that weapon against them.
"Did you ever notice the taser deployed a second time," Dodge asks.
"No," Schurr says.
Schurr adds he does not remember what nearby witnesses to the traffic stop were saying to him and Lyoya.
"What was your focus on this point?" Dodge asks.
"I just want to get the taser from him," Schurr says.
As the struggle continued, the former officer says Lyoya had "full control" of the taser.
"[At] some point, I start to feel him turning toward me. I feared he was going to use it on me," Schurr said, adding that Lyoya was close enough to drive stun him.
"What did you do next?" Dodge asks.
"I shot him," Schurr says.
"Why?" Dodge asks.
"I believed that, if I hadn't done it at that time, I wasn't going to go home," Schurr says.
Dodge plays video evidence from after Schurr fired the fatal shot.
"I've never been that exhausted," Schurr says.
"Did you want to shoot Patrick Lyoya when you took on this traffic stop?" Dodge asks.
"No," Schurr says.
"Did you take on this job to help people or hurt people," Dodge asks.
Becker objects.
Judge Mims sustains the objection.
Dodge brings up prior incidents when Schurr drew his firearm, but did not fire it. Why did he pull the trigger in this situation, he asks.
"I believe that if I didn't do what I did when I did it, I wouldn't be here today," Schurr says.
Dodge continues to play video evidence from after Schurr fired the fatal shot.
Schurr appears to wipe tears away from his eyes.
The defense ends their questioning of the witness.
8:38 a.m.
Defense attorney Mark Dodge asks Judge Christina Mims for permission to play for the jury a clip from a GRPD officer's body camera, showing Christopher Schurr four minutes after the shooting.
Dodge says the clip is relevant as is shows Schurr sitting in a patrol car, breathing heavily after the shooting.
Becker objects to the clip, saying prior testimony demonstrated Schurr's physical state after the incident.
"Beating a dead horse," Becker said.
Judge Mims says she's "inclined" to allow the clip, but is not prepared to rule on the motion as the clip has not been authenticated.
Judge Mims says Christopher Schurr may positively identify himself in the clip, should he choose to testify.
8:35 a.m.
Court is in session.
8:16 a.m.
Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer who called for the release of body and dash camera video following Lyoya's death, enters the courtoom.
7:34 a.m.
Christopher Schurr arrives at 17th Circuit Court for the fifth day of his second-degree murder trial, again greeted by a crowd of supporters, many of them wearing thin blue line apparel.
For FOX 17's previous coverage of the trial of Christopher Schurr and the death of Patrick Lyoya, click here.