UPDATE 7/12/23: This story was updated at the bottom of the page to reflect Chippenham Hospital providing a statement to CBS 6.
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va -- Chippenham Hospital officials are not answering any questions about why a man who was shot and killed by police was released from the hospital just days after being ordered to mental health treatment.
"Please reach out to the Richmond Police Department. We are referring all inquiries to them," Pryor Green, spokesperson for Chippenham's operator, HCA Healthcare, wrote in an email to CBS 6 Tuesday.
On Saturday, Chesterfield Police said officers shot and killed 34-year-old Charles Byers after he allegedly broke into homes and refused to drop a hatchet.
They said Byers was "advancing" toward officers with the weapon.
Police first tried to use a Taser which they said was ineffective, and then deadly force was used.
Just days before the shooting, on Wednesday, police said a relative took Byers to a hospital for mental health treatment, which multiple sources told CBS 6 was Chippenham Hospital in Richmond.
The following day, on Thursday, police said Byers was issued a temporary detention order (TDO).
A TDO is issued by a magistrate after a mental health professional determines the individual to be a danger to themselves or others and in need of mental health treatment.
According to the state code, someone under a TDO should be held at a psychiatric facility until a commitment hearing occurs within 72 hours of the TDO being served.
During a commitment hearing, a special justice would make the determination as to whether the individual is in need of additional mental health services.
Speaking generally, CEO of Richmond Behavioral Health Authority John Lindstrom said hearings typically take place in the admitting facility within 24-48 hours.
"Based on my experience, release prior to the hearing is extremely rare, but can occur if the facility determines that the individual no longer meets criteria or if the TDO expires in the case of an individual still waiting for a bed to become available," Lindstrom said.
On Tuesday, a clerk with Richmond General District Court said the court did have records showing the existence of Byers' TDO. However, the clerk said the court did not have any record of a commitment hearing, which she said is information the court would receive after it occurred.
CBS 6 asked Chippenham if Byers had a hearing at the hospital, but that was also one of the questions Green referred to Richmond Police.
According to Richmond Police, an officer arrested Byers Thursday evening around 6:30 p.m. at the address of Chippenham Hospital for allegedly assaulting a healthcare worker.
"Charles Byers was arrested on or about 6:23 p.m. at 7101 Jahnke Road on July 6, 2023," said RPD spokesperson Tracy Walker in an email to CBS 6 Tuesday.
Walker did not provide any further details related to the nature of the allegation.
VCU policing expert William Pelfrey said generally, mental health patients can become assaultive if they resist medication or treatment.
"Assault on a healthcare worker is a pretty common charge for people with mental health issues," Pelfrey said. "That kind of charge often goes away, but it depends on the nature."
According to court documents, Byers was released on his own recognizance, meaning he agreed to appear in court the following day on Friday.
However, Byers did not end up appearing in court Friday.
CBS 6 asked Richmond Police if this incident was connected to the reason for Byers being released from the hospital, and a spokesperson has not responded.
Chesterfield Police said the circumstances surrounding his release from the hospital are a part of their ongoing investigation.
"There should be 100% transparency. I mean, there are laws that protect peoples' privacy, but there should be transparency in our hospitals," said Chesterfield resident Prudence Justis.
Though not involved in the case, Justis said she has been following the story with "sadness" and "anger" because her daughter also had challenging interactions with the local mental health system and underwent several TDO's and commitment hearings.
"The laws have to change because they don't protect the people who are most vulnerable," Justis said. "It's super important because we all know somebody with mental illness. It's not going away. It's not rare. And then just education and awareness with the police department and communities being able to talk openly about it because lots of people are affected by it and should be able to problem solve together."
In a previous statement, Chesterfield Police Chief Jeffrey Katz said he felt the mental health system failed Byers and his officers.
Pelfrey said he agreed with Katz.
"The failures of the mental health system put public safety officials, particularly law enforcement, in perpetual jeopardy. There are a lot of people who should be receiving care that are not receiving care, and then they're confronting law enforcement. Katz does not want his law enforcement officers engaged with potentially violent people if you can avoid it," Pelfrey said.
However, Pelfrey said he still has questions about how officers handled the incident and added that Tasers are "notoriously unreliable."
"You've got to be within three feet of somebody with a hatchet for them to be dangerous, unless they're going to throw it at you," Pelfrey said. "So as long as officers are backing away, giving 10 or 15 feet between themselves and the suspect, they're not in imminent danger. They don't have to shoot the suspect. When they said that they were forced to shoot the suspect, that's the point at which I want to know, how did the suspect get close enough to them?"
Pelfrey said he also wanted to know how long officers attempted to de-escalate the situation before shooting.
In a previous statement, police said the officers "had no choice but to shoot" Byers.
It's unclear if Chesterfield Police will choose to release bodycam footage of the incident.
After this story aired Tuesday, Green provided the following statement to CBS 6 Wednesday in an email:
"Due to patient privacy rights, Chippenham Hospital is unable to comment on a patient’s medical care and treatment; we are able to comment upon publicly available information. We can confirm that Mr. Byers was at our facility under a Temporary Detention Order (TDO) issued by the Richmond Magistrate Office. While at our facility, Mr. Byers was arrested by the Richmond Police Department for battery. While we are not aware of the exact events after he left our facility, information available on the Virginia Court Information System indicates that, after an arrest for battery, Mr. Byers appeared before the Richmond Magistrate Office and was released on his own recognizance."
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