GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A federal judge’s ruling means the wrongful death lawsuit against a former Grand Rapids police officer will move forward.

In Thursday’s ruling, Judge Paul Maloney denied most of former officer Christopher Schurr’s motion for summary judgment, saying a jury could reasonably decide Schurr violated 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya’s rights when he shot him in April 2022.

Lyoya died following a traffic stop in Grand Rapids. Body camera footage shows Lyoya resisting arrest and running away. Schurr said he feared for his life when Lyoya reached for his Taser, prompting him to shoot.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker charged Schurr with second-degree murder. However, a jury deadlocked in the case in May 2025. A judge declared a mistrial, and Becker announced he would not retry Schurr.

Lyoya’s family sued, alleging Schurr violated Lyoya’s Fourth Amendment rights. Toxicology results later revealed Lyoya’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.

Maloney wrote, “From the video footage in the record, a rational jury could conclude that [Schurr] shot an unarmed man who showed no signs of violence in the back of the head after physically subduing him.” Maloney continued, “Under those facts, it is obvious that [the] defendant violated Lyoya’s constitutional rights, and it is reasonable to conclude that [Schurr] acted in bad faith because he lied in the moment about what he saw before shooting Lyoya.”

Maloney added, “The Court expresses no opinion as to whether this is the best interpretation of the videos or of the record as a whole: that is the province of the jury.”

The civil suit is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 19 in Kalamazoo.