A jury in Grand Rapids, Mich., began hearing testimony on Monday in the murder trial of a white former police officer who fatally shot a Black man as the two scuffled on the ground after a traffic stop in 2022.
There is no dispute about the basic sequence of events that began as the officer, Christopher Schurr, pulled over a Nissan Altima for an improper license plate in a residential area on a cold, rainy morning.
After the driver, Patrick Lyoya, got out of the vehicle, he and Mr. Schurr got into a physical confrontation and tussled on the ground over control of the officer’s stun gun. In a video filmed by a bystander, Mr. Schurr could be seen struggling to pin down Mr. Lyoya before the officer reached for his firearm and shot him at close range.
Jurors must decide whether Mr. Schurr’s use of deadly force amounts to second-degree murder.
In opening statements on Monday, Chris Becker, the Kent County prosecutor, told jurors that the shooting “was not justified” because the Taser that the two men were grappling over did not pose a dire threat to the officer. While Mr. Lyoya resisted being arrested, Mr. Becker said there was no evidence that he intended to seriously harm Mr. Schurr.
But Mikayla S. Hamilton, one of Mr. Schurr’s lawyers, said he opened fire after losing control of the Taser, which made him fear that he was “in a fight for his life.” She added: “This was not murder, this was survival, this was self-defense.”
Mr. Lyoya’s fatal shooting on April 4, 2022, took place amid national debate over police misconduct and racism set off by the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Mr. Lyoya’s death led to protests in Grand Rapids, a city of about 200,000 where nearly 18 percent of residents are Black and where the case strained longstanding tensions over race and the police.
The Grand Rapids Police Department fired Mr. Schurr, 34, soon after he was charged. He had been on the force for seven years.
The trial was postponed as the defense team sought to have the case dismissed. The Michigan Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court decided that the case should be presented to a jury.
Winning convictions against police officers who have used lethal force on duty is often challenging. Generally, officers are authorized to use lethal force only if they reasonably believe that a person poses a grave danger to the officer or others.
In this case, a key decision for the defense will be whether to let Mr. Schurr testify, said Barbara L. McQuade, a former federal prosecutor who teaches criminal law at the University of Michigan.
“The only person who knows what was on his mind is him,” she said.
Mr. Lyoya’s family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and Mr. Schurr, asserting that the officer chose to make the traffic stop because of racial profiling. The family is seeking $100 million in damages.
Mr. Schurr’s lawyers have described the stop as routine and justified. The officer, they said, pulled Mr. Lyoya’s car over after noticing that the license plate was registered to a different car.
A police body camera video shows Mr. Lyoya looking bewildered, and asking why he has been stopped. As Mr. Schurr seeks to put him in handcuffs, Mr. Lyoya tries to flee, and then the two scuffle. Videos of the scuffle show the men vying for control of the Taser, which discharged twice without striking anyone.
Toward the end of the fight, Mr. Lyoya gained control of the Taser, the videos show. In a clip recorded by a bystander, Mr. Schurr, sounding winded, can be heard screaming, “Drop the Taser!” Seconds later, the officer reaches for his gun and fires a single shot.
An autopsy report showed that Mr. Lyoya had a blood alcohol level that was three times the legal limit for driving. The authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Lyoya over a domestic violence charge several days before his death.
Mr. Lyoya and his family moved to the United States in 2014 after living in a refugee camp in Malawi for nearly a decade. His parents have said that they fled the Democratic Republic of Congo after their home was attacked during a war between government forces and rebels.
Mr. Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya, said in an email that the family had grown frustrated as the trial date was repeatedly pushed back.
“I want my son’s death to have not been in vain,” he said. “If Schurr is convicted, then Patrick’s death will serve as a symbol for justice and hope for others.”
Ernesto Londoño is a Times reporter based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest and drug use and counternarcotics policy.
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