News broke this week that Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker has decided to drop the case against former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr, the officer who shot Patrick Lyoya.
While some may be shocked, criminal justice experts are not, and for those watching local prosecutorial patterns, the decision is deeply familiar.
It’s not the first time the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office has chosen inaction and opacity when faced with a case carrying political and social weight.
Cue the case of Former Barry County Sheriff’s Deputy Richelle Spencer.
Her felony stalking case was quietly bound over to Kent County’s 17th Circuit Court, before Judge Christina Mims, as she was found competent to stand trial.
With a history of harassment and repeated complaints, Kent County prosecutors are quietly pursuing the case, a decision that raised eyebrows and drew accusations of selective enforcement when it comes to those working on police forces.
Quiet Inaction
When prosecutors choose not to bring charges or downplay high-profile or politically sensitive cases, it sends a message:
- Certain actors are shielded from accountability.
- Survivors and victims are left wondering why their cases don’t matter.
- Communities lose trust in the justice system’s ability to treat all people fairly.
The parallels between the Schurr decision and the Spencer case are hard to ignore.
In both situations, prosecutors had the opportunity to signal that no one is above the law; but instead, they opted for inaction, silence, and selective prosecution.
Why This Matters
Prosecutorial discretion, the power to decide whether or not to file charges, is one of the most powerful tools in the justice system. It shapes who gets punished, who gets protected, and what kind of behavior is tolerated.
When that discretion consistently favors the powerful, the connected, or the politically aligned, it erodes public faith and reinforces two-tiered justice.
For Richelle Spencer’s alleged victims, the prosecution’s quiet approach seems to signal that certain political figures can act without consequence.
For the Lyoya family and community advocates, the dropped Schurr case signals that even deadly misconduct by law enforcement may be shielded.
What Needs to Change?
To break this pattern, Kent County and Michigan as a whole needs:
- Transparent, consistent prosecutorial decision-making.
- External oversight or independent prosecutors in politically sensitive cases.
- Community-informed reforms to ensure victims and survivors are heard, no matter who the accused is.
Without these steps, the public will remain unsurprised by each new case and increasingly disillusioned by a system that claims to serve justice, but too often chooses convenience.
Richelle Spencer returns to court on June 11, 2025 for a status conference.
Update:
The hearing was rescheduled for unknown reasons to July 23, 2025.
