Video shows Chesterfield police shoot, kill mentally ill man carrying hatchet (2024)

Byers on July 8 was shot and killed by Chesterfield officers as he was experiencing a mental health crisis and carrying a hatchet in a residential area. At the time of his death, he was under a temporary detention order for mental health treatment.

Chesterfield prosecutors in April closed their investigation into the incident, saying the shooting was “justified based on the totality of the circ*mstances” and that no charges would be filed against the officers involved. Chesterfield police then sought and were granted a protective order that placed the footage under seal, according to Paul Curley, an attorney for Byers’ family.

In May, police declined to release the footage to the Richmond Times-Dispatch without offering an explanation and denied a request to schedule a viewing at police headquarters, marking a departure from Chesterfield Police Chief Jeffrey Katz’s previous promise that “anyone who wants to see the video can come in and see the video.”

But Curley included the footage in a recently filed motion to modify the protective order, placing the video in the public record. He said the video was evidence that Chesterfield police “shot first and asked questions later.”

“Standing in someone’s yard holding a yard tool should not be a death sentence,” Curley said.

Chesterfield police spokesperson Liz Caroon said that Chesterfield investigators had initially believed, based on the officers’ testimonies, that Byers was advancing on the officers when he was shot. But the subsequent investigation indicated that Byers had approached the officers “at a different point in the sequence of events than ... initially understood,” Caroon said.

In the footage of the incident, Byers does not appear to advance toward the officers at any point during the encounter.

Video shows moment of deadly shooting

The video begins as two Chesterfield officers arrive at the scene in the 1200 block of Wycliffe Court, where a resident had reported that Byers had tried to break into multiple homes. Byers can be seen standing in a yard, barefoot and holding a hatchet.

As officers exited their vehicles, one of them immediately drew her firearm and pointed it at Byers, ordering him to drop the hatchet. Byers then walked into the street and began backing away from the officers, holding the hatchet down at his side.

As Byers continued to retreat, one of the officers deployed a taser, which either missed Byers or was ineffective. Seven seconds later, the other officer began firing at Byers, who was still backing away.

The officer discharged his weapon five times before Byers turned and began to flee the scene. The officer then fired two more rounds as Byers’ back was turned. Byers ran a few yards before dropping the hatchet and collapsing in the street.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Curley previously said the bullet that killed Byers struck him in the back and severed his spinal cord.

Curley: Byers’ death an example of ‘systemic failure’

Two days before his death, Byers had been admitted to Chippenham Hospital’s Tucker Pavilion and placed under a 72-hour temporary detention order for mental health treatment. His release from the facility is the subject of a lawsuit against the hospital and the city of Richmond.

Curley said Byers was unlawfully discharged on July 6 after he was arrested by Richmond police inside the hospital. Hospital staff had attempted to move Byers to another room, but Byers was afraid to get in the elevator and became uncooperative, according to Curley.

Curley said a Richmond police officer was summoned to “bully” Byers by threatening him with a taser and then placing him in handcuffs when he continued to refuse to get into the elevator. Byers ultimately was detained at the hospital and discharged consequent to his arrest.

Curley said the decision to release Byers violated Virginia law, which requires that a magistrate or facility director approve the discharge of a patient subject to a temporary detention order. That approval was never obtained, Curley said, and Byers was ultimately released into the public on his own recognizance in the middle of the night.

Now, Curley said “everyone is pointing fingers at each other.”

Curley said the hospital and city of Richmond are blaming Chesterfield police and arguing that they could not have anticipated the actions of a “rogue officer” in a different locality. But Chesterfield police have maintained that their officers were forced to take action in a difficult situation that was the result of decisions made by the hospital and the city of Richmond, Curley said.

Curley called the incident another example of “systemic failure” to care for and protect people with mental illnesses.

The hospital and city of Richmond should have anticipated that Byers might end up in danger because he was under a temporary detention order, Curley said. And Chesterfield police lacked adequate training to handle the situation, which led them to use what Curley characterized as “excessive force.”

“They’re all at fault,” Curley said. “Something needs to change.”

The hospital and the city of Richmond previously have declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

As for the video, Curley said the Byers family is glad that it is public.

“They want people to see what happened,” he said. “And I’d like for the public to judge the actions of the police officers without the narrative from Chesterfield police.”