Schurr appeared in court on Friday via video conference, wearing an orange uniform and a blue medical face mask. His lawyers are in court. Mark Dodge, the police’s lawyer, said his client was “justified in the use of force” and pleaded not guilty to Schurr. He said his client offered “nothing but cooperation” during the investigation. A judge set Schurr’s bond at $ 100,000 and set a number of conditions for his pre-trial release, including for Schurr not to buy or own weapons and not to drink or use drugs. A conference on possible cause is scheduled for June 21. Schurr surrendered on Thursday after a Kent County judge signed an arrest warrant against him. Kent County Attorney Christopher Becker said Thursday that his decision to charge Sur was “not a message.” “This is based solely on the facts and the decision in this case,” Becker told reporters, referring to the second-degree murder charge. Lyoya, 26, was pulled over by Schurr for an alleged unregistered license plate. Liogia got out of the car and ran. He resisted Schurr’s attempt to arrest him and the officer shot him while the two were on the ground as Schurr fought for control of Lyoya. Lyoya had three pending warrants when he left Schurr and an autopsy revealed that his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. After the death, protesters took to the streets of Grand Rapids, a city with a history of tensions between blacks and police. The shooting prompted the state civil rights service to renew a request for a press and practice investigation from the Justice Department to the Grand Rapids Police Department, just one month after the new police chief took office. The county’s medical examiner’s office released the results of his autopsy in early May, and the Grand Rapids Police Department released mission records and reports written by police officers who responded to the shooting. The movement of the radio, an accompanying logbook with the help of a computer and updated reports of incidents shed light on the moments before and after the shooting of Liogia by the police. Radio traffic and other police records show Schurr telling supervisors after the shooting that Lyoya “has my Taser.” Schurr notified his sender that a blackened car had stopped around 8:11 a.m. He told the sender that a man was running from the stop about 75 seconds later and asked more officers to respond about two minutes after the stop. Schurr told the sender that he had been “shot” about four minutes after the initial stop. The sender said emergency medical services were on their way about 11 seconds after that. Lyoya was driving with a revoked license at the time of the traffic stop. His license was revoked in March due to a third conviction for substance abuse within 10 years, according to public records. He had three warrants open at the time of the shutdown, according to a review of CNN state records. It is unclear whether Schurr was aware of the warrants or revocation when Lyoya fled on foot shortly after the stop. Records show he has been wanted in connection with a domestic violence case since April, which was charged with a second offense. Another warrant was issued in early April for failure to appear or pay. Another open warrant appeared in court records of a car accident with property damage that Lyoya allegedly fled. His family’s lawyers declined to comment on the open warrants. Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said Thursday he was advising the city to suspend Schurr without pay, pending completion. The officer will have a dismissal hearing and the final decision on his employment will be made by the city director. Winstrom, who took over in March, said he was comfortable with the decision to ask for the officer to be fired. “I recognize the impact this will have on a longtime employee and friend of many in the Grand Rapids Police Department, but I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said. Peter Lyoya, Patrick’s father, said Thursday that the charge brings some relief to the family, although his son will never return. “My heart has been really broken for the last two months because a lot has been said,” he told reporters at a news conference. “And I thought there might be no justice in America.” But he added that if it were not for the videos that captured his son’s last moments, there would be no second-degree murder charge today.
