Behind closed doors Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court justices are scheduled to discuss the case of a former Grand Rapids police officer who shot a Black Congolese immigrant in the city more than three years ago.
Lawyers for Christopher Schurr want the justices to drop him from a $100 million civil lawsuit filed by the family of Patrick Lyoya. Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head on April 4, 2022, following a traffic stop and a struggle while Lyoya tried to flee.
Schurr is also facing second degree murder charges in a separate criminal case that’s scheduled to go to trial later this month.
Both cases — the civil lawsuit and the criminal case — have been delayed because of multiple appeals by Schurr’s attorneys, who’ve argued that Schurr was acting in self defense and feared that Lyoya would use his own taser against him.
The civil case, despite being in the courts for more than two years, is still in its early stages.
The lawsuit accused both Schurr and the city of Grand Rapids of violating Patrick Lyoya’s rights, and of unlawfully killing him.
“Schurr’s actions demonstrated a reckless disregard of his legal duties as well as a substantial lack of concern for whether death or injury would result from his actions,” argued the initial complaint, which was filed in December 2022.
The complaint also pointed out a history of civil rights violations by the Grand Rapids Police Department, and a pattern of disproportionately pulling over Black men in traffic stops.
“Tragically and predictably, [the] City’s unconstitutional policies, procedures, protocols, and customs, are the moving force behind the constitutional violations complained of here and Patrick’s death.”
Both the city and Schurr himself filed to have the civil case thrown out.
The city prevailed and was dropped from the case. Schurr was not. Federal Judge Paul Maloney ruled in 2023 the city could not be held liable for Lyoya’s death because Lyoya’s family attorneys failed to show how the city’s policies led to Schurr shooting Lyoya in that moment.
Maloney came to that conclusion, even though he said there was evidence showing the city did have a pattern of overlooking both racial discrimination and excessive force by its police officers. Maloney cited the city’s own research showing Black drivers were pulled over twice as often as white drivers, and the history of more than 60 complaints of excessive force against the GRPD.
But Maloney wrote that attorneys failed to make the connection between the city’s failures and the specific actions of Christopher Schurr on April 4, 2022.
“The complaint conclusively alleges that the City’s failure to train its law enforcement officers on the proper use of force ‘was the cause and moving force behind the violations and harm suffered’ by Patrick,” Maloney wrote. “However, it does not explain how the City’s inadequate training regarding use of force caused Schurr to allegedly use excessive force on Patrick, nor that the City could reasonably foresee Schurr using excessive force due to a lack of training.”
Ven Johnson, an attorney who represents the Lyoya family in the civil case, initially said he believed Maloney would reverse the decision, but the ruling was upheld after an appeal.
Peter Lyoya, Patrick’s father, said through an interpreter on Stateside earlier this month he still doesn’t understand why the city escaped responsibility for the shooting.
“He didn't understand how — is that how the laws are set up?” said Thomas Lyoya, translating for his father Peter. “Like, if someone is employed by you, they're getting paid by you. They were trained by you and then as soon as they make a mistake, all of a sudden, you just wash your hands clean of them. You act like, ‘Oh, it's not our responsibility. That's their personal thing.’ And he doesn't understand how that works.”
But while Maloney dropped the city from the lawsuit, he ruled it was too early to say whether Schurr could be found liable. Schurr’s attorneys argued he is entitled to “qualified immunity” as a police officer. They appealed the case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which shot down the request. So the argument has now been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In their petition to the Supreme Court, Schurr’s attorneys argued video of the shooting showed Lyoya grabbing Schurr’s taser, which gave him a reasonable fear of being hurt or killed. Because of that, they wrote Schurr was entitled to qualified immunity from civil penalties. They said the Supreme Court should revisit the ruling, and clarify how the video evidence can be used in the early stages of the case.
“Without clarity on how courts should evaluate video evidence at the pleading stage, they cannot properly analyze whether an officer’s actions violated clearly established law,” the petition to the Supreme Court read.
Whether the Supreme Court decides to take up the case could have an impact on police behavior everywhere, according to the National Police Association, which filed a brief in the case supporting Schurr.
“At the time of this filing, this Court is considering a complex factual scenario that reflects the need for clear guidance for officers as to what categories of actions are or are not constitutionally permissible,” the National Police Association wrote.
If the Supreme Court justices decide to take up the issue, it would add further delay to a process that’s already been going on for more than three years. Regardless of what the justices decide, the case will have to return to the federal courthouse in the Western District of Michigan where it originated.
It’s not clear exactly when the justices will announce their decision, but orders frequently come on the Monday following a conference meeting. If that happens, the order would fall on the same day that jury selection begins in the criminal trial in Kent County.
