Photos: Twitter\YouTube
New York, NY (Monday, April 25, 2022) – In response to Rev. Al Sharpton’s demand for transparency and justice, the Grand Rapids Police Department has released the name of the officer who fatally shot Patrick Lyoya during an April 4thtraffic stop. Video from the stop showed the officer, Christopher Schurr, putting his gun to the back of the 26-year-old’s head as he faced the ground before firing.
During an impassioned eulogy for Lyoya in Grand Rapids on Friday, delivered at the request of his family, Rev. Sharpton called on the police department to finally release his name. Today, he reiterated that call for justice.
“Every time a Black man or woman is arrested in America, their name is immediately put out the news. But when this officer put the gun to the back of Patrick Lyoya’s head and decided to pull the trigger, his family had to wait three weeks to find out the name of the man who killed him. Transparency is the first step toward justice in Patrick Lyoya’s name, but it certainly isn’t the last,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN).
The findings of an independent autopsy released last week confirmed Lyoya died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head, something police had not yet confirmed. Renowned forensic expert Werner Spitz found no other wounds on the Congolese immigrant’s body, indicating there was not a struggle before Schurr’s gun was fired.
Schurr remains on administrative leave without any policing powers while the Michigan State Police conduct an investigation.
