White officer should go to trial in slaying of Black motorist, Michigan appeals court rules

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s Court of Appeals has ruled that a former police officer should go to trial for a murder charge in the 2022 killing of a Black motorist. The court said Thursday in it’s 2-1 opinion that it agrees there was enough evidence presented at Christopher Schurr’s preliminary examination “to establish probable cause” that his actions as a Grand Rapids police officer “did not satisfy the standards for use of deadly force in self-defense.” The second-degree murder charge stems from a morning traffic stop that ended with Schurr, who is white, shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head while on top of him. Schurr’s lawyers had sought to get the murder charge dismissed.