On April 4, 2022 Officer Christopher Schurr found himself in a fight for his life, struggling over control of his taser with a suspect that fled a traffic stop. The suspect was clearly dangerous, attempting to steal the taser from him and obviously with the intent to use it on him. Officer Schurr did what he had to do in self-defense, and now he is being charged with second degree murder.
Chris Schurr was born and raised in Grand Rapids and comes from a family steeped deeply in military service, but was the first in his family to serve his local community as a police officer. Chris has wanted to be a police officer for as long as he can remember. He graduated college with a business degree, majoring in accounting but after working several months as an accountant he couldn’t help but feel there was more meaningful work and decided to fulfill his calling to join the police academy. So Chris joined the Mid Michigan Police Academy in January 2015, graduated on May 15th, 2015 and accepted an offer from the Grand Rapids Police Department- where he served for the next 7 years.
But April 4th, 2022 changed his life. Chris is the latest victim of the war on police and is being persecuted for doing his job and acting in self defense.
Around 8:10 a.m., Officer Chris Schurr, a Grand Rapids Police Officer, pulled over a vehicle near Nelson Avenue SE and Griggs Street SE. Chris was cautious but concerned that the driver was armed, and when he ran the license plates he discovered they didn’t match the car. The driver fled from the vehicle.
Officer Schurr followed his training and pursued the suspect. When he caught up to him, the suspect began to fight him. Chris pulled out his taser and attempted to neutralize the suspect, but it was unsuccessfully deployed twice. This is when the suspect attempted to disarm and steal the stun gun from Chris.
The suspect persisted in resisting and attempting to disarm Officer Schurr, even as onlookers urged him to calm down and cooperate. Realizing that his safety—and that of nearby bystanders—was at risk from the suspect’s erratic actions as he tried to seize Officer Chris’ weapons, Officer Schurr had no alternative but to employ more lethal measures. Officer Chris then followed all protocols to subdue a suspect who was clearly endangering both himself and the public.
Officer Schurr’s actions were within his legal rights as a police officer due to the fleeing felon rule, as well as the reasonable force and self-defense standards. The suspect was fleeing an officer and was clearly dangerous as he was actively trying to disarm and neutralize Chris with his own stun gun.
Chris was unjustly fired from the Grand Rapids Police Department and is now facing a legal battle that has now been ongoing for 3 years. Officer Christopher Schurr is currently out on bail while awaiting a decision from the Michigan Supreme Court on his appeal to avoid standing trial. Officer Schurr’s appeal of federal lawsuit was denied.
Chis and his wife Brandey are facing an uphill battle of legal fees and fighting for justice and his freedom. Please help Chis and his family through his difficult season as they fight these charges so they can get their life back! Any donation big or small will help their family.
