Mistrial explained to the police officer from Michigan, who killed the Congolese immigrant

Grand Rapids, me. (Ap)-a judge declared a Mistrial on Thursday after a jury in Michigan in the second-degree murder process against a police officer who shot Patrick Lyoya, a black one in the back of the head After a traffic stop in 2022.

The result came at the beginning of the fourth day of the consideration and was a part of the victory for Christopher Schurr, who was exposed to another process. The murder of Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant and father of two children, released weeks from protest In Grand Rapids, especially after the city's police chief published a video of the confrontation.

“It hurts my family, my wife. We bleed. We have pain,” said Lyoya's father Peter Lyoya about the result and spoke through an interpreter. “We will continue to fight until we become true justice for Patrick.”

Defender Matthew Borgula said that he spoke to the jury and learned that most of the villains wanted to release.

“We cannot explain the victory because there is really no profit here. A man has died and that is a very serious thing,” Borgula told reporters.

The Mistrial occurred one day after three former police officers in Memphis were acquitted In the striking death of Tires Nichols After a traffic stop. His death was the first case after the George Floyd, the revealed the limits From an unprecedented billing about the reform of the police and the racial justice in Schwarz -America.

Video was played for days

Schurr shot Lyoya on the 26-year-old who was FaceDown on the ground. Schurr told the jury that he was afraid of his life after he had lost control of his taser during an intensive fight in a residential area.

Videos were an important part of the experiment and were repeatedly shown to the jury, including critical images that was recorded by a man who was with Lyoya. The struggle with the Taser, which fires electrically charged probes, was of central importance for Schurr's defense.

The 34-year-old stared straight ahead when the Mistrial was explained. According to the result, a spectator who was sitting near the Lyoya family rejected the courtroom. Only a few members of the general public were present in the trial compared to earlier.

Judge Christina Mims had asked the jury to continue working after they had done difficulties on Tuesday to reach consensus. In addition to murder, they were also able to consider lower charges for manslaughter.

Lyoya's family wants a second process. The prosecutor of Kent County, Chris Becker, said that he would need more time to decide and added that he would not bow to the public pressure of supporters or critics.

“We thought we were doing a good case. Obviously the jury thought differently,” said Becker.

Foot hunt became tragic

The shootout occurred on April 4, 2022, when Schurr, who patrolled alone, continued A Nissan Altima For improper license plates and demanded Lyoya's driver's license.

Body camera and dashboard camera film material Showed Lyoya ran and the officer who was concerned. They fought and the officer could not subdue Lyoya with a Taser that Lyoya could grasp. Schurr repeatedly asked to oppose and drop the taser, and then fired a ball in the head.

Schurr said he ran after the fight and in great fear of “steaming” because a taser can cause “agonizing pain”.

“I believed that if I hadn't done it back then, I wouldn't go home,” said Schurr about Lyoya.

However, the prosecutor argued that the Taser had already been used twice by Schurr and could only be used in another mode if Lyoya had decided to turn him against the official.

Becker spoke to reporters on Thursday and said that the jury had been divided into the threat by the Taser and whether he should concentrate on the exact moment of the shootout or the entirety of the encounter.

Experts filled witness chairs

It is not known why Lyoya tried to flee. Records show that his driver's license was revoked at that time and that there was an arrest warrant against him in a case of domestic violence, although Schurr did not know. An autopsy showed that its blood alcohol level was three times above the legal limit for driving.

In addition to Schurr's report on this day, the jury heard witnesses, who were described as experts for the use of violence. Some were Schurr's colleagues in the Grand Rapids department who supported him.

Defense experts said the decision to use fatal violence was justified because the exhausted officer could be seriously injured if Lyoya had used the taser. However, the public prosecutors' experts said that Schurr had different decisions, including simply the driver.

Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, was released shortly after his indictment.

Lyoya's family said they came to the United States to escape longer citizenship in the eastern Congo. Finally, Lyoya joined a list of other black immigrants who were looking for a better life in the United States, only to suffer abuse or death from law enforcement authorities, including law enforcement Botham JeanPresent Amadou Diallo And Abner Louima.

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White reported from Detroit.