GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – On the third day of the trial in the death of Patrick Lyoya, the defense got to call their own witnesses.
Prior coverage: Prosecution rests, defense requests mistrial
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Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese refugee, was shot and killed by a Grand Rapids Police Officer during a traffic stop in April 2022.
The first witness called by the defense was a forensic video analyst expert.
The second witness called by the defense was Timothy Johnston, a recently retired Grand Rapids Police Officer who responded as backup after the fatal shooting.
Johnston said that upon arriving on scene, Schurr appeared exhausted from the struggle.
“He reminded me of the end of an Olympic sprint race or something, you see the athletes afterwards with their hands on their knees breathing hard,” Johnston said.
Other officers who responded to the scene that day also testified, including Officer Nicholas Calati, who testified to Schurr’s exhaustion.
“He was worn out, tired,” Calati said. “His face was pale.”
Grand Rapids Police Captain David Civer was the next witness called by the defense.
“You’ve got to put yourself in that position,” Civer said when analyzing Schurr’s response. “So exhaustion, you’re tired, you don’t know, all these factors, the totality of the circumstances.”