Michigan Police (MSP) handed over a partial investigation file in late April to the Kent County Attorney’s Office, and after prosecutors initially looked into the case, they sought additional information from the police department and the manufacturer of the equipment used by the officer. The medical examiner in the county handed over an autopsy in early May after hasty toxicological tests, the prosecutor said.
Lyoya’s death – by shooting in the back of the head – led to protests in Grand Rapids, where other police-resident interactions gathered media control and is 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 Department of Justice to the Grand Rapids Police Department, just one month after the new police chief took office.
Offering a loose roadmap for the schedule last month, Prosecutor Becker sought to allay concerns about the pace of the investigation by publicly acknowledging the need for more research material and consulting with state and national experts before making an indictment decision.
“I recognize that the investigation appears to be moving forward painfully slowly,” Becker said in a press release last month. “However, as in all cases before this office, it is imperative that I consider all the facts and evidence before making a billing decision. In this case, my decision can only be made by taking the time to gather all the evidence. available information – both from the MSP and from state and national experts “.
Following the shooting, authorities released material that prosecutors usually examine to determine whether criminal charges against a police officer are warranted. Some of this material came from requests for files and other material was released to respond to the public outcry over the shooting. A review of CNN documents gives a clearer picture of what happened the morning Lyoya was shot and killed and what prosecutors are considering as they file charges against Schurr.
The prosecutor will draw from material that has been made public and some will not. Regardless, Schurr’s future with the department is unclear. is on administrative leave and a separate administrative inquiry into his conduct is ongoing. Records released in recent weeks show that Schurr has been repeatedly praised for preventive policing and stalking before this shooting.
The county’s medical examiner’s office released the results of his autopsy in early May, and the Grand Rapids Police Department released mission files and reports written by police officers who responded to the shooting in late April.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said the department needed better training. officials announced his recruitment in early February and he was in power less than a month after Schurr shot Lyoya.
If the county attorney denies the allegations, much of the investigative material should be available for public scrutiny. If the prosecutor charges, this material will remain secret as the state prepares a case against the police officer.
A clearer picture of the struggle emerges
The movement of the radio, an accompanying logbook with the help of a computer and updated reports of incidents shed some light on the moments before and after the shooting of Liogia by the police.
The release of the radio and other files released by the Grand Rapids Police Department show that the officer who shot Liogia told supervisors after the shooting that Liogia “has my Teaser.”
Schurr notified his sender that he had stopped a blackened car around 8:11 a.m. told the sender that a person was running from the stop about 75 seconds later asked more officers to respond about two minutes after the stop. and notified the sender that he had been “shot” about four minutes after the initial stop. The sender acknowledged and 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 knew about the warrants or the revocation of the permit at the time Lyoya fled. The video shows Schurr telling Lyoya that the license plate does not belong in the car, but there is nothing in the audio or documents released that shows how Schurr knew this or what else he might have known. A spokesman for the Grand Rapids Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Lyoya fled on foot shortly after stopping. 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.
Schurr fought with Lyoya for a few seconds before asking for more police support. The two of them continued to fight. Lyoya was unarmed at the time of the shooting, according to a family lawyer. The officer who shot Liogia is heard to say “let go of Teaser” before shooting him fatally.
A witness told another respondent that Lyoya “took the officer’s Taser,” according to the summary of the officer’s interview with the officer, and that the officer tried to use the Taser but it did not work.
A supervisor, on police radio, said he was “on the spot” about five minutes after the initial stop. A few seconds later, another supervisor asked about the location of the “subject”, asked him if he had access to weapons and in what direction he was looking.
“He has my Taser,” Schurr replied.
About eight minutes after the shooting, with several police officers and at least one supervisor at the scene, they approached Liogia to “offer help”. According to records released, this was partly delayed by the passenger of Lyoya, whom officers suspect was drunk and did not respond to orders. The identity of the passenger has not been made public and his name has been deleted from publicly available files.
The supervisor’s report stated that he found Schurr’s body-worn camera under Lyoya when he first approached him, and Schurr’s Taser was found under Lyoya after he rolled Lyoya to allow officers to begin chest compressions.
This supervisor, a sergeant, wrote in his report that he came to find a man snout in a front yard with Schurr “hiding behind a tree in the parkway.”
“The man’s hand was hidden under his body near his waist, possibly hiding a gun. I did not know if the suspect shot Officer Schurr,” the sergeant wrote.
Officers checked the stopped Altima and approached Lyoya, with officers providing “lethal force cover” as the sergeant approached him. The sergeant, in his report, said he thought the part of the camera worn by the body protruding below Lyoya was a pistol grip, but when he approached, “he could see that it was Schurr’s body camera which apparently had been displaced during the struggle. ”
The sergeant rolled Lyoya and found Schurr’s Taser and his body-worn camera, which he was still recording, according to the report. Police began chest compressions and an officer brought a defibrillator. They did cardiopulmonary resuscitation until doctors arrived, according to the report.
About 17 minutes after the traffic was stopped, a supervisor said there were no suspicious missing persons and that a passenger in the car was “insured”.
Kent County Attorney Christopher Becker objected to the video being released on the case, but not indefinitely. He said he wanted investigators to be able to interview potential witnesses before coming across a video that would be released after its release.
“That … could ruin what you remember, people remember things and watch a video and (it) changes what they remember because ‘oh yes, I see it that way now,’” Becker said. “That was my concern.”
The criminal review process in Kent County
Police in Kent County are not investigating gunshots by police, Becker said. Each agency has an agreement with another to investigate the shootings, and then investigators hand over the files to Becker’s office for verification. “Every shot is different, … they pick things up, we take a look. If we need to keep going, we will say, it needs to be investigated, but it is done through the foreign service,” he said. Becker said he usually issues an opinion, along with a press release, when making a decision after a police officer shoots someone. He has handled about a dozen cases since his election in 2016, he said. Following the shooting, the president of the Greater Grand Rapids NAACP, Cle Jackson, called on Becker to withdraw from the investigation and the Michigan Attorney General to take over the case. Jackson cited “the historic relationship between the Kent County Attorney’s Office and the Grand Rapids Police Department” as the reason why “a fair and impartial inquiry cannot be conducted.” Jackson asked Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate. In a statement, Nessel’s office said it was available to assist Becker if Becker believed the aid would be “justified”. Becker said he would not drop the case because the legal model for the acquittal did not have …
