Police Officer Christopher Schurr was charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of Patrick Lyoya, 26, a refugee from Congo, who Schurr fatally shot in the back of the head during a traffic stop in April.
Schurr, who is white, told Lyoya that he stopped him because the license plate didn’t match the vehicle, according to video. Lyoya began to run after he was asked for a driver’s license.
Schurr quickly caught him, but the pair physically struggled across a front lawn in a residential neighborhood while Lyoya’s passenger recorded the scene on a phone.
Lyoya was on the ground when Officer Schurr shot him.
“While the road to justice for Patrick and his family has just begun, this decision is a crucial step in the right direction,” Crump said in a statement after the charge was announced. “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.”