LANSING, Mich. — The future of the murder case against former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr remains uncertain after Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced he will not pursue a retrial following a recent mistrial.
Schurr was charged in connection with the April 2022 shooting death of Patrick Lyoya, but after a hung jury ended the initial trial earlier this month, Becker determined that another trial was unlikely to yield a different verdict. “The jury came back deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of acquittal,” Becker said. “What it boils down to is I don’t think we reach a different verdict if I do a retrial.”
Following Becker’s decision, attention has turned to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the possibility that her office could assume prosecution of the case. While Becker noted it is “technically” possible for Nessel to take over, he added that she has not contacted his office to express such intentions. Historically, Nessel’s office has not intervened in local prosecutions of this nature.
Advocacy groups representing the Lyoya family, including the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP and the Urban League of West Michigan, have publicly urged Nessel to step in. Eric Brown, president and CEO of the Urban League, called on the Attorney General to file charges, emphasizing the community’s demand for justice. “We are imploring her to file charges to pick this up so the Lyoya family as well as our community can have the justice it so rightly deserves,” Brown said.
In 2022, shortly after the shooting, Nessel had indicated she would be willing to prosecute the case if asked. Speaking at an event in Kalamazoo, she explained that officer-involved shootings often create tensions between local prosecutors and police departments, making the Attorney General’s office a better fit for handling such sensitive cases. “The Department of the Attorney General is best suited to handle these cases,” she said.
Despite this, Becker took on the prosecution himself. Now that he has stepped away, it remains to be seen whether Nessel will choose to intervene.
Most recently, during jury deliberations, Nessel addressed a social media post accusing her of seeking a high-profile conviction similar to that of Derek Chauvin in the George Floyd case. She clarified that her office had no involvement in Schurr’s prosecution, which was managed entirely by Becker.
As of now, Nessel’s office has not announced any plans to become involved, leaving the case’s next chapter unclear.
