Prosecutor says a Michigan police officer who killed a Black motorist won’t face a second trial

By ED WHITE DETROIT AP A Michigan police officer who fatally shot a Black man in the back of the head after a tumultuous traffic stop will not face a second trial a prosecutor noted Thursday two weeks after a trial ended without a unanimous verdict The decision by prosecutor Chris Becker is certain to upset civil rights activists and the family of Patrick Lyoya the -year-old Congolese immigrant whose death in the front yard of a Grand Rapids home was recorded on video and played repeatedly at trial Becker announced he doubted that a second jury would come up with a different effect This is a split society he described reporters A message seeking comment from Christopher Schurr s lawyer wasn t instantly returned FILE A TV display shows Patrick Lyoya as video evidence of a Grand Rapids police officer struggling with and shooting Patrick Lyoya is shown at Grand Rapids City Hall in Grand Rapids Mich Wednesday April Grand Rapids Police Department via AP Schurr who was a Grand Rapids officer claimed self-defense saying he feared for his life and shot Lyoya because the man had control of his Taser He was charged with second-degree murder though the jury also was allowed to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter Lyoya s death in April was the climax of a fierce struggle that lasted more than two minutes Schurr stopped a car for having the wrong license plate Lyoya stepped out of the car didn t produce a driver s license and began running Related Articles US Mint moves forward with plans to kill the penny Healey condemns hate-fueled killings outside Jewish museum April home sales slow with high mortgage rates prices putting chill into spring buying season Supreme Court tie vote dooms taxpayer funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma Kermit the Frog to deliver commencement address at the University of Maryland graduation Schurr was on top of Lyoya on the ground when he shot him in the back of the head The entire confrontation was recorded on video and repeatedly played for the jury At trial defense experts declared the decision to use deadly force was justified because the exhausted officer could have been seriously injured if Lyoya had used the Taser The prosecutor s experts however noted Schurr had other choices including purely letting Lyoya run It s not known why Lyoya was trying to flee Records show his driver s license was revoked at the time and there was an arrest warrant for him in a domestic violence matter though Schurr didn t know it An autopsy revealed his blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit for driving