Michigan police officer who fatally shot Patrick Lyoya has been charged with second degree murder

• The officer who fatally shot Patrick Lyoya at a traffic stop has been charged with second-degree murder.
• A Kent County prosecutor, said the officer, Christopher Schurr, acted unreasonably when he shot the 26-year-old Black man.

The Michigan police officer who fatally shot Patrick Lyoya at an April traffic stop will be charged with second-degree murder, Kent County prosecuting attorney Christopher Becker announced Thursday.

Becker said the officer, Christopher Schurr, acted unreasonably when he shot the 26-year-old Black man.

"This is obviously a major decision," Becker said at a press conference. "Based on the evidence I reviewed, I think a second-degree murder charge is appropriate."

Lyoya was initially pulled over for having license plates that did not match his vehicle.

"We are encouraged by attorney Christopher Becker's decision to charge Christopher Schurr for the brutal killing of Patrick Lyoya, which we all witnessed when the video footage was released to the public," Ben Crump, Lyoya's family's attorney, said in a statement Thursday.

"While the road to justice for Patrick and his family has just begun, this decision is a crucial step in the right direction. Officer Schurr must be held accountable for his decision to pursue an unarmed Patrick, ultimately shooting him in the back of the head and killing him – for nothing more than a traffic stop," Crump said.

Multiple videos — including the dashcam footage from the police car, bodycam footage from the officer, home security camera footage, and a cellphone video taken by a passenger in the pulled-over car — released at a press conference following the incident helped to piece together what happened at the scene.

Bodycam footage showed Schurr asking Lyoya for his license as Lyoya walked away from his car, prompting Schurr to grab him. The officer then attempted to wrestle Lyoya to the ground and first used a Taser, according to video.

In the video, Schurr can be heard saying "let go of the Taser."

The bodycam footage cut off when the officer was on Lyoya's back. The police department claimed that the pressure of the officer on Lyoya's back caused the camera to "deactivate."

But home security camera footage showed the nearly three-minute struggle between the pair, which ends in the officer pinning Lyoya to the ground.

Videos from the home security system and from a bystander show the officer appearing to use his Taser at least twice on Lyoya, who appeared to try to grab the Taser from the officer.

The videos show the officer wrestling Lyoya to the ground, with Lyoya laying on his stomach and the officer on his back. The officer then appears to shoot Lyoya in the back of the head.

"The video clearly shows that this was an unnecessary, excessive, and fatal use of force against an unarmed Black man who was confused by the encounter and terrified for his life," Crump said at a press conference in April.

Meanwhile, defense attorneys representing Schurr called the Lyoya's death "not murder but an unfortunate tragedy, resulting from a highly volatile situation."

"Mr. Lyoya continually refused to obey lawful commands and ultimately disarmed a police officer," lawyers Mark Dodge and Matthew Borgula said in a statement to Insider on Friday. "Mr. Lyoya gained full control of a police officer's weapon while resisting arrest, placing Officer Schurr in fear of great bodily harm or death,"

The attorneys said they are "confident that after a jury hears all of the evidence, Officer Schurr will be exonerated."