Christopher Schurr, the former police officer responsible for the shooting of Patrick Loyoya, will be facing trial at the Kent County Court in Michigan, a judge said on Monday. Judge Nicholas Ayoub, who is hearing the case, announced his decision after hearing testimonies of the incident and watching video footage. 

The jury will be deliberating on whether it was necessary for the former officer to use a lethal weapon in his case and will deliver its verdict “after a full and fair trial.”

Also read: Patrick Lyoya was killed by cop’s shot to the head, autopsy reveals

The charge against Schurr is that he shot Loyoya in the back after stopping his motorbike on the road. Loyoya is a Black man and his killing at the hands of an officer was part of similar incidents that involved police officers and Black individuals. 

Who was Patrick Loyoya?

Patrick Lyoya moved to the United States as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. His family claims that they fled their home in Eastern Congo after being in the middle of the Kivu conflict for years. He was 26 years old at the time of his death.

In Congo, Lyoya’s parents sold beer and clothing to run the family. Her mother has said that she was once raped by rebels in Congo while on her way home from their place of trade. 

They first moved out of Congo in 2003 and settles for a few years in Malawai where they lived in a bamboo house at a refugee camp. Loyoya himself had spent half of his life living in that house.

The US granted the family refugee in 2014 and they moved to the country to settle down in the Grand Rapids area of Michigan in the same year.

Testimonies have claimed that Loyoya did not speak the English language well, but he was quite active in helping the other refugees who came to settle in that area. He has two children.

He switched home frequently and changed multiple Blue-collar jobs without settling into any. Police records show that he has been arrested for drunk driving multiple times and substance abuse disorder was also found in him.