(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — The prosecutor in Kent County, Michigan, has decided to charge Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop in April.
Lyoya, an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was shot in the head on April 4 after Schurr pulled him over for an unregistered license plate. His death prompted protests throughout Grand Rapids.
Schurr turned himself in and is expected to be arraigned Friday, according to Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker, who made the charging decision.
Body camera video showed Schurr shouting at Lyoya to “get back in the car” at the beginning of the footage, which was released nine days after the shooting.
Schurr can be heard asking Lyoya if he spoke English and then demanding that Lyoya show his driver’s license. Lyoya turned to a passenger in the car and started to walk away from Schurr.
The officer grabbed Lyoya and struggled with him before Schurr eventually forced him to the ground and shouted, “Stop resisting,” “let go” and “drop the Taser.” Police said Lyoya had grabbed at the officer’s stun gun during the altercation.
The body camera was deactivated during the struggle, according to police.
Lyoya was then shot from behind, according to an independent autopsy report backed by Lyoya’s family.
“He’s on his hands and knees facing away from the officer. There are so many other things the officer could have done instead of pulling his gun out and shooting him in the back of the head,” Crump told ABC News in April.
ABC News’ Adisa Hargett-Robinson contributed to this report.
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