Murder Trial Witnesses Describe Struggle Over Taser in Patrick Lyoya Case

In Grand Rapids, Mich., the week was filled with emotion as the trial of former policeman Christopher Schurr on a charge of second-degree murder got underway. Schurr is charged with shooting to death Patrick Lyoya, a Black driver, in April 2022 during a stop that escalated from a routine traffic stop into a deadly standoff. Witnesses, ranging from a bystander neighbor and Lyoya’s friend, were able to provide emotional and detailed testimony that viewed the unfolding as a messy and tragic scenario ended in a back-of-the-head shot.

Wayne Butler, a neighbor who watched the encounter unfold from his front yard, was among the first to testify. He said he shouted at Lyoya during the struggle, urging him to stop resisting. “Just stop, whatever you’re doing,” Butler recalled saying. “Like this is an officer of the law. In America’s history, this is how it ends every time.”

Butler’s recollection expressed the frustration he felt as he watched the incident unfold. He stated that Lyoya had exited his vehicle—something Butler instinctively knew one did not do when being pulled over. From there, things quickly deteriorated. Although he never saw Lyoya punching or kicking the officer, Butler described that it was clear Lyoya was not cooperating. He watched the officer discharge his Taser, which hit Lyoya in the chest but did not stop him. There was a subsequent fight over the gun.

“Patrick was trying to get the Taser away from the officer,” Butler explained. The brawl, which lasted a couple of minutes, left both men breathless, the witness added. He compared the dynamic to a game where a team had a lead throughout – a game where the officer, he said, was always in command.

Butler admitted that he entered the building to get his phone, realizing he could not physically do anything. He just missed seeing the actual shooting by mere seconds. “The last six seconds, God spared my eyes,” he answered solemnly.

Prosecutors also subpoenaed Aime Tuyishme, Lyoya’s friend and a passenger in the vehicle, to testify. He testified that the two had consumed alcohol and were listening to music the evening before. They had been out obtaining more beer on the morning of the shooting when police pulled them over. Toxicology reports later revealed Lyoya’s blood-alcohol level was.29, double the legal limit to operate a vehicle.

Tuyishme recorded a great deal of what was happening on his phone. He testified on the stand that there was back-and-forth between the two men, and in that back-and-forth both men were being hostile. “It was two people back and forth,” he testified.

Prosecutors also displayed a recording of the encounter before the jury, which is a mashup of police body cam and cellphone video of Tuyishme. On the videos, Schurr can be viewed shooting at Lyoya in the back of his head as Lyoya was lying down with his face towards the ground. The imagery became too intense to bear for Lyoya’s mother, who sobbed while departing court.

In his opening statement, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker distilled the state’s case to this: deadly force was unjustified. Becker conceded Lyoya had violated laws driving with no license plate, drunk, resisting arrest but contended those didn’t merit a death sentence.

“Did he have to shoot him while attempting to arrest him?” Becker asked. “If you review all the evidence, the answer is no.”

He informed the court the Taser that had been deployed had been used twice previously and didn’t work anymore. “The moment it’s deployed, it’s finished,” Becker said, describing the neuromuscular disorientation the weapon causes. The implication was the Taser no longer presented an effective threat to the officer.

Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Aaron Tubergen’s forensic evidence testified to the fact that the Taser did not leave the scene and was brought in for analysis. He said the main issue was a fight over control of the Taser. Peers investigator Sgt. Zachary Batchelor stated that he viewed a number of angles of the scene, but refused to show them in slow motion, since he did not want to unduly prejudice the jury’s view of what occurred.

Dr. Stephen Cohel, the medical examiner, also testified that the bullet that had killed him also seemed to have been a contact wound, i.e., the gun would most likely have been pushed into Lyoya’s head when fired implying a very close and intentional action.

The defense claimed, though, that Schurr acted in self-defense. Schurr gave 29 lawful commands that were not followed by Lyoya, defense lawyer Mikayla Hamilton said, and that the officer believed himself to be at risk of being killed when he saw Lyoya grasp the Taser. “Let go of the Taser, drop the Taser,” Schurr’s last commands, she said.

Hamilton asserted that Lyoya was physically robust, that Schurr was alone, and that the Taser, having been discharged, could again be utilized as a lethal weapon. “He didn’t decide to take a life,” she said. “He decided to save his own.”

Testimony also covered remarks about Officer Schurr’s condition after the fight. Crime scene investigator Jessica Beaudry attested to minor injuries and an apparent change in demeanor. Normally affable, Schurr was said to have become withdrawn and uncommunicative afterward.

While the defense would have liked to introduce Lyoya’s criminal history as background information about his behavior, the judge said that it was prohibited and further noted Schurr didn’t know who Lyoya was before shooting him. The prosecutor had characterized Lyoya as a man who was attempting to “renew his life” with some current pending legal cases against him, such as a domestic violence warrant.

As the trial continues, the public and legal observers are looking on. The case has sparked heated debate about policing, race, and use of force. Regardless of what happens, it’s a milestone in Michigan legal and social history.

The trial continues Tuesday with more witness testimony, including expert testimony.