Records released Friday by Grand Rapids police show that Christopher Schurr has received more than a dozen letters of identification since becoming an officer in 2015. Incidents sometimes started with interruptions due to a lack of brake light or a sharp turn of the driver. “Your swift and professional actions resulted in the removal of another firearm from the streets and the detention of two detainees,” wrote then-Chief David Rahinski in 2017. It is possible that the allegations against Schurr no longer exist in his file. The contract between Grand Rapids and the police union allows older records to be deleted if officers complete two years without disciplinary action. Some incidents in the past that brought positive recognition to Schurr turned into chases. A foot chase is what happened on April 4 when a car driven by Lyoya, a black man, stopped and said the license plate did not match the vehicle. Schurr, who is white, and Lyoya physically fought on a grass front, while Lyoya’s passenger recorded the scene on his phone. Lyoya, 26, was on the ground when Schurr shot him after he demanded that he pull his hand out of the officer’s Taser, according to a video. State police investigating the shooting filed a report Thursday with the Kent County Attorney, who will look into whether the allegations are justified. Chris Becker said he still needs references to Schurr’s Taser and the camera worn on the body. A witness to the clash told Grand Rapids police that Sur “did everything he could to defuse the situation,” according to an incident report released Friday, although some experts, civil rights groups and Liogia’s family strongly disagree. Lyoya’s parents want Schurr fired and charged with a felony. Schurr’s staff file, which was released to the Associated Press following a public listing request, reveals only a few warts. He was ordered to drive safely after causing a collision while supporting his patrol in 2021. That same year, Schurr said he stopped a car because a room deodorant hanging from a mirror could block the driver’s eyesight. A search turned up a small safe that was then broken by a trailer driver at the request of another police officer. Inside was a stolen weapon. The investigation was deemed okay by Home Affairs investigators, but Schurr was criticized for not reporting the broken safe, records show. Schurr’s record shows he was placed early in his career on the south side of Grand Rapids, where a night shift team of seven to 11 officers received a 2016 Performance Award. Rachinski recorded more than 500 felony arrests during “countless chases, robberies, seizures of stolen cars” and other police responses, and no public complaints of excessive violence or disrespect.
Find the full AP coverage of Patrick Loya’s fatal police shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya
White reported from Detroit. Condon reported from New York.
