A Michigan police officer has been charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head as the Black man was on the ground. The charges against Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr come weeks after Lyoya was killed on April 4 during an intense physical struggle, which was captured on bystander video. Schurr fired the fatal shot while demanding that Lyoya, a refugee from Congo “let go” of the officer’s Taser. Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker said Lyoya's death was not justified and could not be excused as self-defense. Schurr, who is white, told Lyoya that he stopped his car because the license plate didn’t match the vehicle. Roughly a minute into the stop, Lyoya began to run after he was asked to produce a driver’s license.
Officers are rarely charged with crimes in civilian deaths, and it's rarer still for them to be convicted.
