RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said his officer may not have arrested Charles Byers while he was in mental health crisis at a hospital had the officer known the full picture at the time.
“I think that certainly, with more information, it may have played out differently," Edwards during an interview with CBS 6 reporter Tyler Layne.
On July 6, Byers was in Chippenham Hospital's psychiatric unit under a temporary detention order (TDO) after an expert with the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority evaluated Byers and determined he was a danger to himself or others and needed to be involuntarily admitted for emergency treatment. The TDO was issued by a Richmond magistrate and served by Chesterfield Police, the jurisdiction in which Byers lived.
That was less than 48 hours before Byers was shot and killed by Chesterfield Police on July 8 while said to be in "crisis," allegedly trying to break into homes on Wycliff Court, and not complying with officers' demands to drop a hatchet.
So, what happened at Chippenham Hospital for Byers to be removed from the hospital by police and then taken before a Richmond magistrate who released Byers on his own recognizance back into the public?
CBS 6 has been questioning Richmond Police about the arrest for weeks, and during a crime briefing on July 20, Edwards said he had launched an internal investigation into the officer's actions to get answers.
Now, he's sharing the results of the review.
Edwards said on July 6, hospital staff asked an officer, who was working in the emergency department at the time, to respond to the mental health unit at Tucker Pavilion for an uncooperative patient.
Byers was found in the hallway and had not yet made it into a bed, Edwards said.
Edwards said hospital staff, security, and the RPD officer negotiated with Byers for about twenty minutes, trying to get him to cooperate.
During the course of those negotiations, Edwards said Byers allegedly kicked a nurse.
No injuries were reported, according to the incident report.
“Staff at the hospital informed our officer that they wish to press charges, and they were going to discharge him from their hospital," Edwards said, adding that the hospital had turned over discharge papers.
Edwards said, on misdemeanor charges such as assault, an officer has discretion on whether or not to make an arrest. If probable cause exists, the state code says the officer may make an arrest, not shall.
"What kind of questions were asked during that process? How did we come to that conclusion?" Layne asked regarding the decision to make an arrest.
"There's very little guidance to that from the Code of Virginia, and upon my review, there was very little guidance in our own General Orders regarding the arrest of people that are inside hospitals. If probable cause exists, the officer may make an arrest. In this case, the officer did," Edwards responded.
Edwards said the officer did not know Byers was under a TDO, and according to body camera footage that he reviewed, the officer was never made aware of the TDO at the hospital.
“It may not have changed the decision, because you can still arrest a person who is under a TDO even if the person is going to be discharged from the hospital, but it would have given more information to better make that decision," Edwards said.
Had the officer known, the chief said the officer could have taken Byers to Central State Hospital, which was originally listed on Byers' TDO as the "facility for temporary detention." State-run facilities, such as Central State, are required by state law to take in TDO patients when private facilities cannot.
Edwards said some other options for Byers could have included:
-Having the healthcare worker take out their own warrants later or helping facilitate that process after the fact
-Leaving Byers in the hospital until the crisis was over
-If Byers was still removed, letting the magistrate know about the TDO
Edwards said he is now directing new department policies to be enshrined in the General Order and enacting an executive order to give guidance to officers for similar situations, so that they are not solely relying on information from the hospital.
His changes include:
- -Mandating that a supervisor responds before taking any mental health patient into police custody and removing them from a hospital
- -Consulting with the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) about the individual's mental health background and "affirmatively ask them if a TDO or ECO (emergency custody order) is present"
"When we contacted RBHA, there could have been other arrangements made at a hospital that might be better equipped to handle a patient that's been violent to staff," Edwards said.
He continued, “The flip side of all this is we have healthcare workers who are reporting to the police that they're being assaulted, and they want something done about it, so we have that side of it, but we also have to look at that person who is in crisis."
Edwards said the arresting officer checked databases for Byers' information, but a TDO did not show up.
"I think there's no good database for us to check and look and know right away. Obviously, the magistrate didn't see it in their database, and when we arrest anybody, we have to run a criminal history check, and it wouldn't show up on that either," Edwards said.
The chief reviewed Byers' criminal hearing with the magistrate on the assault charge, where the officer was present, and said it appeared normal. Again, there was no mention of the TDO, since the officer thought Byers had been voluntarily admitted to the hospital.
"I'm sure the magistrate just thought it was a voluntary situation and dealt with the alleged crime as it stood, and the crime that he was accused of is a misdemeanor. The magistrate weighs that and that's why the magistrate gave him a recognizance bond," Edwards said.
A Richmond General District Court judge previously told CBS 6 in court that the court possessed no records of Byers ever having a commitment hearing, which is a hearing that is typically required for patients within 72 hours of being served a TDO where a special justice determines whether the individual needs additional mental health services.
According to the state code, a facility director can release a patient under a TDO prior to a commitment hearing if they determine the individual no longer meets the criteria for temporary detention.
CBS 6 has asked HCA Healthcare, Chippenham's operator, if that was the case for Byers, and HCA has not answered.
CBS 6 has also asked whether hospital staff told the officer about Byers' TDO and whether it's best practice to discharge psychiatric patients while they are under a TDO. HCA has not answered those questions either.
"While at our facility, and before a TDO hearing, Mr. Byers was arrested by the Richmond Police Department for an assault that occurred in the presence of Richmond Police officer(s). This is a criminal proceeding, which we, as a hospital, cannot override," HCA spokesperson Pryor Green wrote in an email to CBS 6.
On July 12, CBS 6 submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the body camera footage showing Byers' arrest & his time under police custody. Richmond Police has not yet provided the records, despite the FOIA deadline of twelve business days already passed.
RPD's legal affairs office previously withheld the detailed officer narrative of the alleged assault when requested through FOIA by CBS 6, citing an "unwarranted invasion of privacy."
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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