GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WWMT) — A former Grand Rapids police officer will not be retried after his murder case ended in a mistrial in early May, according to Kent County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Becker.

In his May trial, Christopher Schurr was charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids in April 2022.

The jury also considered a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

"This is a extremely difficult decision," Becker said. "I looked at everything. I looked at our case, I looked at the defense's case, I looked at the arguments that were made, I looked at the jury selection process, because I think that's probably one of the biggest thing going into this; we were thinking about getting a good jury."

He continued, "What it boils down to is I don't think we reach a different verdict if I do do a retrial in this case. The jury came back deadlocked."

Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents the Lyoya family, said Becker's decision was "not the verdict nor the outcome the Lyoya family sought." He issued the following statement:

“The Lyoya family has not only lost Patrick, but now the hope that former officer Christopher Schurr will ever be held criminally accountable for taking Patrick’s life. With today’s decision, what was once a pause in justice has now become a permanent reality. This is not a verdict nor the outcome the Lyoya family sought. We will continue to stand with the Lyoya family in their pursuit of truth, accountability and justice for Patrick, and are awaiting our day in civil court.”

What happened during Schurr's trial?

Back on April 28, a jury consisting of 12 members and two alternates took their seats inside Grand Rapids’ 17th Circuit Court as the first of eight days of testimony began.

Witnesses who took the stand that day recalled what they saw during the struggle between Schurr and Lyoya on April 4, 2022.

This included passenger Aime Tuyishme, who filmed the incident, and homeowner Wayne Butler, whose yard was the scene of the shooting.

Becker didn’t deny that Lyoya was driving without a license and resisted arrest.

However, he argued that alone didn’t mean lethal force was necessary because Lyoya didn’t have the intent, or ability, to harm Schurr.

Defense attorney Mikayla Hamilton, on the other hand, argued that Schurr gave 29 commands before Lyoya was shot. Video also showed Lyoya grabbed Schurr’s taser, leading Hamilton to argue that, had Lyoya been able to tase Schurr, he could have taken his gun.

Experts who testified on April 29 took a deeper look into the technology used by Schurr, specifically his taser and his bodycam.

Information on the taser’s memory chip showed that Schurr deployed the weapon twice, but did not hit Lyoya either time.

Schurr’s bodycam, which stopped recording shortly before Lyoya was shot, was also activated more than a dozen times during the struggle.

• Criminal defense attorney:Will Christopher Schurr be retried?

Five current and former police officers analyzed each step that Schurr took toward Lyoya’s death during the prosecution’s final day of arguments on April 30.

Their input, however, was controversial, according to the defense.

A mistrial was then called as defense attorneys argued the officers that testified weren’t experts in Grand Rapids policies.

However, that request was quickly denied by Judge Christina Mims.

On May 1, the defense began their arguments in the case.

Two Grand Rapids Police captains took the stand that day, making it clear they felt Schurr’s actions were justified. They also explained the different levels of force that officers can use.

An expert on exhaustion, Lon Bartel, also testified. He explained the fight between Schurr and Lyoya left Schurr exhausted, and with little other option than to use deadly force.

On May 2, five days after the trial began, Schurr took the stand in his own defense.

Schurr testified he was alarmed when Lyoya got out of his car, and even more so when he disobeyed commands to get back inside.

When Lyoya ran off, Schurr claimed he was pushed away and found himself unable to get control of the 26-year-old.

He then moved to using his taser after knee strikes proved to be ineffective.

According to Schurr, that’s when Lyoya grabbed his taser, with his thumb eventually blocking the safety switch.

It was at that moment that Schurr shot Lyoya, saying that if he hadn't done it at that time, he was going to die.

Both the prosecution and defense concluded their arguments on May 5. The jury then began their deliberations.

Despite more than 20 hours of discussion, however, the case ended in a mistrial after the group of 12 jurors couldn’t reach an agreement.

"We cannot declare victory because there really is no winning here," Schurr's attorney Matthew Borgula said at a press conference after the trial's conclusion.

Becker stated he didn’t regret prosecuting Schurr, and denied that political pressure locally and nationally had anything to do with his decision to do so.

"We always knew this was a possibility. It's a difficult case," Becker said. "This was not an easy case. This was not a simple case."

Borgula, however, shared he was frustrated that much of the trial discussion focused on broader issues of police policy. He stated that over half of the trial saw irrelevant evidence.

"I think the jury was confused by the fact that the prosecutor was saying that he cannot defend himself, because he screwed up on whether or not he should chase him," Borgula said.