GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Toxicology tests for Patrick Lyoya show he was over the legal limit for driving when he was pulled over by a Grand Rapids police officer who ultimately shot and killed him.
Patrick Lyoya’s blood alcohol content level was .29, the Kent County medical examiner confirmed to News 8 Friday.
Michigan’s legal limit for driving is .08. Lyoya had previous convictions for drunken driving.
The medical examiner’s autopsy found Lyoya, 26, died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. That was also the conclusion of an independent autopsy commissioned by Lyoya’s family’s attorneys.
Lyoya died April 4. Grand Rapids Police Department Officer Chris Schurr pulled him over on the city’s Southeast side. Video released by GRPD shows Lyoya ran away and Schurr gave chase. There was a struggle that included Lyoya grabbing Schurr’s Taser. Schurr, who was on top of Lyoya trying to hold him down, ultimately shot Lyoya in the head.
Documents released by GRPD last week show that officers who arrived after Lyoya was shot also suspected the passenger in Lyoya’s car was either drunk or high.
Lyoya’s attorneys have argued that the reason Lyoya was pulled over is inconsequential. They say that Schurr repeatedly failed to deescalate the situation. They have called for him to be fired and charged.
Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting. The case report has been passed along to the Kent County prosecutor, but at last check earlier this week, MSP and the prosecutor were still awaiting forensic reports from the manufacturer of the officer’s body camera and Taser. The prosecutor says he will not make a decision about whether the shooting was justified or whether charges are warranted without that information.