Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Former Police Officer to Stand Trial for Patrick Lyoya’s Murder

Christopher Schurr will go to trial for fatally shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head during a traffic stop in April in Michigan. To truly win justice, we need to continue to organize against the police and the system they uphold.

Facebook Twitter Share
Christopher Schurr, who murdered Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids, MI, sits in a court room.

Today, Grand Rapids District Judge Nicholas Ayoub ruled that former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr will stand trial for the murder of Patrick Lyoya, a 26 year-old Black refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Schurr is charged with a single count of second-degree murder for shooting Patrick Lyoya in the head at point-blank range during a traffic stop.

Judge Ayoub made the decision after reviewing evidence, including a graphic video of the killing, presented at a two-day preliminary hearing where the prosecution and defense argued whether there was enough evidence to take Schurr’s case to trial. Schurr has pleaded not-guilty. 

That Schurr will be charged is welcome news to the movement in Grand Rapids in particular as well as the broader movement against police brutality and systemic racism. Activists in Grand Rapids continue to organize, even in the face of systematic repression by the Grand Rapids Police Department and Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker. This repression was recently expressed in the outrageous imprisonment of activist Brittany “B” Hawkins for spray painting a police barricade and for possessing a personal taser, which they carry for their own protection. Republican Circuit Court Judge Curt Benson imprisoned B for three months on these minor charges, which would normally not result in prison time, illustrating the lengths the state will go to repress the movement to win justice for Patrick Lyoya and other victims of police brutality. Several other movement leaders in Grand Rapids are also facing charges, including felonies, for protesting Patrick’s murder.

Organizers, including those with Detroit Will Breathe, have circulated a call for B’s release. Supporters are encouraged to call Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office at (517) 335-7858 to demand that Whitmer use her gubernatorial powers to defend the democratic right to protest, pardon B, and secure their immediate release from prison.

B’s case demonstrates that although Schurr’s charging is a victory for the movement, the fight for justice is far from over. The state was forced to charge Schurr in an attempt to quell the movement. But activists know that Schurr is one bad cop in a rotten system. Cops across Michigan and the country unleash unspeakable violence against Black people, poor communities, the working class, and so many others.

Through the cops and the courts, the state is locking up activists like B — and many other political prisoners from BLM and other movements — to dissuade dissent against this evil and repressive system. From Patrick Lyoya to B, we can see that the police are little more than armed thugs who enforce capitalism’s reign of exploitation and oppression.

To truly win justice for Patrick, B, and other activists facing charges in Grand Rapids and across the US, we need to continue to organize against not just the police but the system they uphold.

Facebook Twitter Share

United States

Federal Charges of Political Activists Show the Racist and Repressive Nature of the Capitalist State

Black nationalist organizations in the United States have been the target of what is a clear, politically motivated attack by the FBI in an attempt to silence voices of dissent against the U.S. government.

Tristan Taylor

May 17, 2023

Biden Agrees with Trump on Immigration

With the end of Title 42, Biden has put in place even more restrictive measures against migrants seeking asylum in the United States. As refugee crises get more extreme, so will the state’s anti-migrant policies.

Sam Carliner

May 12, 2023

Police Violently Repress Protesters while Jordan Neely’s Murderer Walks Free

On Monday, NYPD officers brutalized people gathered at a vigil for Jordan Neely, who was murdered last week in the subway by a vigilante.

Molly Rosenzweig

May 11, 2023
Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Black man who was murdered on May 2, 2023, wears a Michael Jackson outfit on a subway platform.

Jordan Neely Was Executed for Being Poor, Black, and Disabled

Jordan Neely was strangled to death in the New York subway during a mental health crisis.

Julia Wallace

May 3, 2023

MOST RECENT

Tracking, Deportations, Internment: European Countries Go on the Hunt for Migrants

On May 10, German chancellor Olaf Scholz strengthened Germany’s anti-migrant policy. This means more deportations, border patrol reinforcements, and economic agreements with sending countries. The new policy is being deployed throughout Europe.

Leo Stella

May 25, 2023

#AllthatsLeftPod: Three Years Since the George Floyd Uprising:

In this episode of the podcast, we reflect on the 2020 George Floyd uprising, which began three years ago. We discuss how to turn the energy of a mass uprising into a sustained movement, and the kind of revolutionary leadership that's required to do so.

Left Voice

May 25, 2023

Fight Capitalism, Fight for Neurodivergent Liberation

Neurodivergent and disability liberation will have to come from the overthrow of capitalism and the building of a socialist system which values different forms of human behavior and directs resources to meeting human needs.

Sam Carliner

May 23, 2023
Prof. Gail Green-Anderson of LaGuardia Community College at a rally outside Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Manhattan office on Thursday.

Rekindling the Militant Spirit of CUNY’s Past

Mayor Eric Adams has announced an austerity budget that includes significant cuts to the City University of New York among other city agencies. In order to defeat these cuts, students, faculty, and other workers across the city must unite our struggles and be prepared to shut the university down.

James Dennis Hoff

May 22, 2023