Newly formed Stand with Schurr page perpetuates racist ideology, glorifies state violence and justifies the murder of Patrick Lyoya

The group that has been organizing financial support for the Christopher Schurr, the ex-GRPD cop who shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head, known as Stand with Schurr, now has their own Facebook page. 

The Facebook page for Stand with Schurr started just one week ago and as of this writing has 12 separate postings. Some of the posting people might be familiar with, such as the recent brief filed by Schurr’s lawyers asking the court to dismiss the case, the statement from the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association from April 26th pf last year, commentary posted from the Gerald R. Ford Metro Lodge #97 –  Fraternal Order of Police, and video of a GRPD Captain who testifies that Schurr followed proper training in Lyoya shooting. 

The posts on the new Stand with Schurr Facebook page that people may not be familiar with are from groups that are pro-police, embrace far right ideologies and in varying capacities perpetuate racist stereotypes and ideologies. The three groups that the Stand for Schurr Facebook page is promoting are:

• Legal insurrection 
• Before the Court, a webcast hosted on YouTube – “Before The Court aims to dramatically decrease the number of violent interactions between our citizens and the police departments who serve us.” 
• Failure to Stop podcast, hosted by Mike the Cop and Eric Tansey

Reading and watching content from each of these sites is not recommended, since they are difficult to stomach, but it is necessary if we want to understand the mindset, indeed the culture of people who defend cops no matter what. It’s one thing for the Stand for Schurr group to raise money for the ex-GRPD cop and his wife, but it is another thing to promote and perpetuate racist ideology and the belief that cops are in our communities to protect and serve. Regardless of the outcome of the trial for the ex-cop that shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head, we need to expose groups like Stand for Schurr and counter their glorification of state violence workers, known as cops.