CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va — New audio obtained through federal court records revealed the information dispatchers gave Chesterfield Police before officers responded to a call that would result in the deadly shooting of Charles Byers.
On July 8, 2023, a Chesterfield officer shot and killed Byers as he was holding a hatchet in a neighborhood.
Byers was in mental distress and under an active court order to be held in a psychiatric facility at the time of his death.
Police and the Byers family characterize the dispatch information very differently.
An attorney for Chesterfield County and its officer says the dispatch audio highlights that officers were responding to a high-severity, potentially dangerous crime.
But the attorney for the Byers family says the dispatch information relayed to the officers highlighted a low-level possible misdemeanor crime that did not necessitate the use of lethal force.
The situation started after a neighbor on Wycliff Court called 911 in the middle of the day to report that a man, later identified as Byers, tried entering her home, tore off a window screen, and when confronted by the resident, said he thought he was at his family's house and asked for water.
A second neighbor then reported on the same 911 call that Byers had tried to open his door, knocked on it, and appeared to be "messed up on something."
The dispatch operator relayed this to officers:
“A B&E attempt Wycliff Court. The caller is advising that a male subject, bald, white male, last seen wearing black T-shirt, black shorts and barefoot, came up and took off her back screen. He’s now currently walking through a neighborhood.”
The dispatcher then added that Byers was seen standing in a third neighbor's garage.
The officer who would later shoot and kill Byers asked dispatchers whether Byers committed any crimes.
"Any crime committed so far? Made entry into anything?" the officer asked.
"Looks like he vandalized one residence. Other than that, I'm not seeing anything," the dispatcher responded.
One male officer and one female officer then arrived on scene to find Byers standing in a yard, and by this point, he was holding a hatchet.
Body camera video obtained by CBS 6 shows Byers retreating from officers as they gave at least 15 orders for him to drop the hatchet, but he did not comply.
After about 45 seconds, the male officer shot Byers five times as he continued to back away from the police. Byers then turned around to run away, and the officer shot him two more times in his back. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The Byers family is suing the county and the male officer for excessive force, alleging the officer failed to de-escalate, did not give a warning that he would use deadly force, and that the alleged crimes committed by Byers did not warrant the use of deadly force.
The county and officer are seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing the officer's actions were reasonable because Byers posed an immediate threat to his safety and the safety of neighbors by holding a hatchet and failing to comply with orders.
County attorney Julie Seyfarth stated in court filings that the officers did in fact de-escalate through their uniformed police presence, verbal commands, display of guns, and the use of a taser.
While Seyfarth acknowledged that Byers was walking away from officers, she said he "squared up" with the male officer, clenched the hatchet in his hand, and "slowly and methodically" walked backwards.
Seyfarth wrote that the officers were in a deadly force encounter from the moment they exited their cars and argued they would've been legally justified to use deadly force against Byers even earlier in the encounter.
She also contended that the severity of the reported crimes that called police to the scene was high, and a reasonable responding officer would believe that a "potentially dangerous crime was in process."
Seyfarth said the reported crimes were potential felonies, depending on the suspect's intent and use of weapons, and required the suspect's arrest for further investigation.
However, the attorney for the Byers family, Paul Curley, filed a response calling Chesterfield's characterization of the reported crimes "dishonest."
He disputed Seyfarth's claim that the severity of the crimes was high, drawing attention to the dispatch operator telling the officer that she was only aware of a vandalism when asked what crimes Byers had committed. Curley argued that the officer was only aware of a misdemeanor against the property before arriving on the scene, not multiple potential felonies.
Curley said that "the plaintiffs expected that Chesterfield County had learned its lesson" after the police department released a public statement in the hours after the July 8, 2023 shooting claiming that Byers was advancing on the officers, but body cam video later showed that Byers was actually not advancing on officers. Rather, he was retreating from them.
Curley contended that Byers never made a threatening motion with the hatchet toward the officers.
Federal judge Roderick Young will ultimately determine whether the allegations made against Chesterfield are sufficient to continue through the process.
The plaintiffs have also sued HCA's Chippenham Hospital and the City of Richmond, alleging the two entities and its employees acted jointly to improperly remove Byers from a mental health facility while under a court order to be there.
The judge previously determined that some of the claims against those defendants can move forward, and he dismissed some others.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
