Michigan
Jury begins deliberations in murder trial of former Michigan police officer
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Jurors began deliberations Monday over whether a former Michigan police officer could have reasonably feared that he was at risk of great bodily injury or death when he shot and killed 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, over three years ago.
In closing statements Monday morning, prosecutors said videos of a traffic stop show that former Grand Rapids officer Christopher Schurr was not in danger at the time, while defense attorneys argued the same videos show Lyoya had control of Schurr’s Taser, a weapon that discharges small amounts of electricity to incapacitate someone. Schurr, who is white, was charged with second-degree murder and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Jurors have the option to convict Schurr of the lesser charge of manslaughter, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $7,500.
“I hope you’re not getting callous,” Kent County prosecutor Christopher Becker said to the jury in his closing statement. “How many times have you watched this video of another person — Patrick — dying over and over and over again?”
Jurors watched videos of the shooting — taken from multiple angles on a doorbell camera, body camera, dashboard camera and a bystander’s cellphone — numerous times throughout the trial, sometimes side by side and sometimes frame by frame.
Schurr pulled over a vehicle driven by Lyoya for improper license plates in April 2022 in a residential Grand Rapids neighborhood, roughly 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of Detroit. Video footage shows Schurr struggling to subdue Lyoya as they grappled over the officer’s Taser. Schurr told Lyoya to stop resisting and drop the weapon multiple times throughout the encounter.
While Lyoya was facedown on the ground with Schurr on top of him, the officer took out his gun and shot him once in the back of the head.
Schurr testified last week that he thought Lyoya was going to use the Taser against him.
Referencing photos of the encounter shown to the jury, Becker argued that Lyoya was trying to avoid being shot with the Taser and was attempting to get away from Schurr, rather than harm him. Lyoya never had a tactical advantage over Schurr, Becker said, and did not pose a threat.
“You can’t take a life without a darn good reason,” Becker said.
Lead defense attorney Matthew Borgula walked jurors through the traffic stop again during his closing, arguing that Schurr performed his duties as a police officer reasonably at each moment.
“He’s doing his job,” Borgula said.
Borgula said Schurr was on Lyoya’s back because he was trying to get the Taser back. He said officers do not have to wait to be injured to use deadly force, referencing testimony from several high-ranking Grand Rapids police officers last week. Schurr was fired from the department shortly after he was charged in 2022.
“Christopher Schurr was at work, and he was faced with the toughest decision of his life in half a second,” Borgula said.
The fatal shooting prompted weeks of protest in Grand Rapids, and demonstrators on both sides have protested outside of the Kent County courthouse during the trial. Civil rights groups decried the shooting as part of a pattern of aggression perpetuated against Black people in the U.S. by white officers.
East Lansing — A couple of familiar faces are staying on with Pat Fitzgerald’s first football staff.
Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and safeties coach James Adams will remain on Michigan State’s staff next season, first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and confirmed by an MSU spokesperson.
Rossi, 46, joined Jonathan Smith’s inaugural staff in December 2023 after six seasons as defensive coordinator for Minnesota. Rossi originally signed a three-year contract worth $4.8 million in base salary. The Detroit News reported Friday that MSU athletic director J Batt added an extra year worth $1.7 million to Rossi’s contract two days before this season’s opener against Western Michigan, one of four wins in a 4-8 (1-8 Big Ten) season.
A 5-19 record over two seasons resulted in Jonathan Smith’s firing Sunday, and Fitzgerald took over Monday. Rossi’s current contract carries a buyout that would exceed $3.5 million if Michigan State had replaced him as defensive coordinator.
At the end of the 2025 season, Rossi’s defense allowed 29.9 points per game, which ranked 103rd out of 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 15th out of 18 Big Ten teams. An average of 378.7 yards allowed per game ranked 73rd in the FBS and 14th in the Big Ten.
Adams joined Smith’s staff in January after leaving Wake Forest, where he was an associate head coach and safeties coach. He began his career at Wake Forest as a graduate assistant in 2009 before making stops at Wofford, Charlotte, Western Michigan, Navy and Purdue. His contract, signed through Jan. 31, 2027, would have carried a buyout of $285,416.67.
Fitzgerald agreed to terms on a minimum five-year, $30 million contract that could automatically extend to eight years, $54 million if he wins seven games in his first three seasons. Fitzgerald previously coached at Northwestern from 2006 to 2022, a Big Ten West opponent of Rossi’s old Minnesota teams. Fitzgerald also coached against Adams in 2021, when the latter was at Purdue.
Of 11 assistant football coaches under contract with Michigan State, five are on contracts that expire Jan. 31. If Michigan State were to turn over the remaining staff beyond Rossi and Adams, it would cost the university $2,524,000.
That is on top of the estimated $33.5 million owed Smith, which Batt told The News on Thursday will be paid by athletic department funds.
All those contracts, including Smith’s and Rossi’s, are subject to a mitigation clause in which the salary paid by the coach’s next job offsets the buyout amount owed by Michigan State.
cearegood@detroitnews.com
@ConnorEaregood
WEXFORD COUNTY, Mich. – Communities across Northern Michigan are coming together to support the loved ones of Rebecca Park, the 22-year-old pregnant mother found dead in Manistee National Forest last month.
Earlier this week, Park’s biological mother and stepfather, Cortney and Bradly Bartholomew, were charged with her murder. Both are facing a long list of charges, including first-degree murder and torture, and are accused of stabbing Park to death and removing her unborn baby.
The couple appeared in court virtually and were denied bond.
Park leaves behind two young sons, who are now being cared for by her adoptive parents. A GoFundMe started to support the care of her children has already raised more than $5,000.
“It means a lot to the family to know that there are people out there who support us and supported Rebecca in this horrible, horrible situation and that feel for her children because this is not going to be easy for any of the kids involved,” Rebecca’s adoptive mother Stephanie Park told NBC affiliate UpNorthLive.
A vigil will take place Saturday evening in Boon Township near where Rebecca’s body was found. In nearby Manton, Cedar Creek Café is planning a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to support the family. The fundraiser will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Manton Consolidated Schools.
Restaurant owner Martha Snyder says Rebecca stopped by the restaurant with her fiancé shortly before her death.
Snyder says Rebecca was excited about the birth of her son, whom she planned to name Richie.
“We talked about her pregnancy, how far along she was, that she was due in November,” Snyder told Local 4.
Snyder says the news of Rebecca’s gruesome killing has shaken their quiet community to its core.
“It’s traumatic,” Snyder said. “I have never heard of anything so horrendous in my life. Most everyone I know has never heard of anything so evil and horrendous in their lives, so I think that in and of itself speaks volumes. It’s unconscionable, it’s unimaginable, and it is evil.”
Snyder said she feels fortunate to have met Rebecca through their chance encounter. She’s now using her business to raise as much as she can to support Rebecca’s family during such an unimaginable loss.
“It just seemed like the only thing to do, and it also seemed like the only way for people to be able to get together and support one another through it,” Snyder said.
You can donate to the family’s GoFundMe here.
Copyright 2025 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Amid a rise in flu cases throughout Michigan, the Detroit Medical Center is implementing new visitor guidelines.
The new guidelines are effective at all DMC locations, including the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, beginning Monday, Dec. 8.
DMC’s new visitor guidelines are as follows:
- All patients are allowed up to two visitors at any one time.
- Visitors ages 12 and under, including siblings and other relatives, will not be allowed on inpatient hospital floors or in the observation units.
- Visitors ages 13 and over who have a fever, cough or rash are asked to visit patients at another time. This applies to both private and semi-private rooms. If hospitals have policies that are more restrictive than the proposed guidelines, they will continue to use them.
- Visitors who exhibit illness or cold symptoms are encouraged to visit during a period of wellness.
“We have seen a marked increase in flu positivity in pediatric patients, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has also reported an uptick across the state,” said Dr. Teena Chopra, MPH, Corporate Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology and Antibiotic Stewardship for Detroit Medical Center. “So we wanted to move quickly to protect our patients and the community.”
State officials say that there were 14 pediatric influenza deaths during the 2024–2025 flu season — the highest mark since the state began tracking pediatric flu mortality in 2004.
Between October 2024 and May 2025, state health officials reported more than 33,000 hospitalizations related to influenza.
University of Delaware student accused of ‘frightening’ plot to attack campus police
Megan Moroney announces 2026 North American tour set to visit Grand Rapids & Detroit
FIFA World Cup 2026 match-ups for San Francisco Bay Area games announced
How to get tickets to 2026 FIFA World Cup games in Houston
Art Basel Miami 2025: Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, Larsa Pippen and more
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
A 3-D Look at Trump’s Proposed White House Ballroom
‘Another D-Day’: Biden once urged ‘international strike force’ on narco-terrorists as Dems now blast Trump
EU members seek fewer ‘Solidarity Pool’ relocations of asylum seekers
West Virginians question National Guard deployments after attack on 2 of their own
ICE arrests Azerbaijan national with multiple criminal convictions including animal cruelty, arson
-
Politics4 days agoTrump rips Somali community as federal agents reportedly eye Minnesota enforcement sweep
-
Technology1 week agoNew scam sends fake Microsoft 365 login pages
-
News4 days agoTrump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US
-
Ohio2 days agoWho do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
World4 days agoHonduras election council member accuses colleague of ‘intimidation’
-
Texas7 hours agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Politics1 week agoRep. Swalwell’s suit alleges abuse of power, adds to scrutiny of Trump official’s mortgage probes
-
News1 week ago2 National Guard members wounded in ‘targeted’ attack in D.C., authorities say