By SCOTT MCCLALLEN
THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) – Eight months after Patrick Lyoya’s death during a traffic stop by a police officer in Michigan, two attorneys filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city of Grand Rapids and the now former officer.
Civil rights attorney and personal injury attorneys Ben Crump and Ven Johnson represent Mr. Lyoya’s family. The lawsuit is filed in the U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan Northern Division against the city of Grand Rapids and former Grand Rapids officer Christopher Schurr.
Camera footage shows Mr. Schurr shooting Mr. Lyoya on April 4 during a routine traffic stop. After a short foot chase and a physical struggle, Mr. Lyoya was pinned face-down on the ground when Mr. Schurr fired a single bullet into the back of Mr. Lyoya’s head.
The lawsuit includes two counts against Mr. Schurr for violating federal law in his use of excessive force, and Michigan state law violation of gross negligence. The Lyoya family says the city is liable for federal law and more offenses, including creating within the police department an atmosphere encouraging use of excessive force.
This civil lawsuit follows Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker providing in court enough evidence to bound Mr. Schurr to trial on criminal charges during a preliminary examination in October. Mr. Schurr faces second-degree murder charges.
“It’s clear Schurr unnecessarily escalated a situation involving an unarmed Black man,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement. “At no point did Patrick try to hit, punch, kick or slap Schurr, nor did Patrick ever verbally threaten him. Any claim by Schurr that he was in imminent fear for his life is absolutely unreasonable and untrue.”
The new lawsuit says that over five years, Grand Rapids received 79 citizen complaints of excessive force by its police officers, yet the department cleared all but 2.5% of officers’ wrongdoing. Mr. Schurr, with the department since 2015, was placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting before being fired.
“Law enforcement officers in this country cannot continue to be absolved of accountability for shooting first and asking questions later,” Mr. Crump said in a statement. “The minor punishments officers often receive do not send a message that will deter other officers from repeating this deadly cycle. This pattern needs to end here with justice for Patrick Lyoya.”
It’s unclear how much the lawsuit is seeking, which includes compensatory damages, hospital, medical, and funeral expenses, and other damages. Mr. Crump previously won a record $27 million wrongful death settlement from the city of Minneapolis in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd.
