GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a former Grand Rapids police officer can go to trial for a murder charge in the April 2022 killing of a motorist.

In its 2-1 opinion, the court ruled on “sufficient evidence presented” at Christopher Schurr’s preliminary examination “to establish probable cause” that his actions as a police officer “did not satisfy the standards for use of deadly force in self-defense.”

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Schurr has always maintained that he felt his life threatened by 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya after he pulled him over because his vehicle and plates did not match. Body camera footage showed Lyoya resisting arrest, and Schurr said Lyoya tried to grab his taser. Toxicology results showed Lyoya with a blood alcohol level of three times the legal limit.

The department fired Schurr two months later.