GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge denied a former Grand Rapids police officer’s request to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the death of Patrick Lyoya in 2022, court documents filed Thursday show.
Though the criminal case against the former officer, Christopher Schurr, ended in a mistrial in May 2025, Judge Paul Maloney in the U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo rejected his motion for summary judgement of Lyoya’s civil rights claims.
- Previous coverage: Civil trial against former GRPD officer Christopher Schurr to take place in Kalamazoo
Therefore, Maloney’s ruling will allow the civil case to go to trial. The trial will take place in Kalamazoo and is expected to begin in October.
Lyoya was shot in the back of the head by Schurr during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. Video from the incident shows Lyoya running away from Schurr, who pulled him over for an issue with his license plate, before the two got into a struggle involving the former officer’s Taser…