May 8 (UPI) -- Former Grand Rapids, Mich., police officer Christopher Schurr's murder trial for the death of Patrick Lyoya ended in a mistrial on Thursday.
Seventeenth Circuit Court Judge Christina Mims declared a mistrial on Thursday after the jury could not reach a verdict.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker will have to decide whether or not he will refile charges against Schurr, who killed Lyoya during a traffic stop three years ago.
Supporters for Lyoya and Schurr had gathered outside the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids prior to the mistrial announcement.
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Lyoya was an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and struggled with Schurr while trying to flee a traffic stop.
An autopsy determined Lyoya's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
Becker charged Schurr with second-degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Schurr's defense attorney Mark Dodge said his client "was justified" in the shooting death.
Schurr initiated the traffic stop at 8:11 a.m. on April 4, 2022, in southeastern Grand Rapids when the license plate on Lyoya's vehicle did not match the car.
Police said Lyoya was intoxicated and tried to flee after Schurr told him to stay in the car, which caused Schurr to tackle Lyoya in a nearby yard.
Schurr tried to use his taser twice during the struggle but missed Lyoya.
Video footage shows Lyoya tried to grab Schurr's stun gun as the two struggled on the ground, and Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of his head.
A passenger in Lyoya's car recorded part of the struggle. So did Schurr's bodycam and the police car's dashcam.
Lyoya's shooting death triggered protests in Grand Rapids, and his family filed a $100 million federal lawsuit against Schurr and the city of Grand Rapids.
The Grand Rapids Police Department fired Schurr in June 2022.
