RICHMOND, Va. — Video obtained exclusively by CBS 6 reveals the interactions between a mentally ill hospital patient and Richmond Police, medical staff, and security just 36 hours before the man would be killed during an encounter with Chesterfield Police.
For the first time publicly, the body camera footage shows exactly what led a Richmond police officer to arrest and remove 34-year-old Charles Byers from the hospital while Byers was under a court order to receive involuntary psychiatric treatment.
Richmond Police initially declined to release the body camera footage when requested by CBS 6 through the Freedom of Information Act, but the video has now been submitted as evidence in a civil case.
Byers lived with schizoaffective disorder, which his family said caused delusions, paranoia, and anxiety.
Provided to WTVROn July 5, 2023, Byers was suffering an episode, so his mother took him to the emergency department at HCA’s Chippenham Hospital in Richmond.