GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Henry Wymer, the man killed in an officer-involved shooting on November 8 left a heartbreaking note, shedding light and raising more questions about the situation leading to his death.
Friday morning, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced that none of the officers involved in the shooting will face charges.
Wymer was first brought to the attention of Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) officers in the late hours of November 8 with reports of a man waving a handgun around near Trinity Health Hospital, and later, a similarly described man seen walking in circles in the roundabout with a gun.
Officer Watkins found Wymer and, noticing him holding a gun-shaped object to his head, exited his cruiser and yelled for Wymer to drop the gun.
Wymer instead yelled "Shoot me" and stepped into the crosswalk from the curb.
Three more GRPD cruisers approached, one pulling up next to Watkins from the north, two approaching from the south. Officers Carlson, Plasterer, and Zuby began echoing Watkins demands to drop the gun.
37 seconds later, a call from the radio; "He's pointing a gun at me" and sound of gunshots.
Officer Bates was the voice on the radio, according to a written timeline of the events given to FOX 17 during the press conference.
"As I was in the process of crouching, I had my hand on my radio to broadcast information when I saw what I identified as the muzzle of a handgun sticking out from in between the subject's hands," Bates told investigators in his statement. " With my hand already keyed up on the radio broadcast, I stated he was pointing the gun at me over the radio."
Medical examiners found Wymer had 7 gunshot wounds over his chest, abdomen, and upper legs.
On his body was found a Clickit lighter that clearly resembled a gun and several written letters.
"Last Will and Testament" it read. "I ate at McDonalds and asked to use this pen. I could not find witnesses But I am medicated and this is what I want to happen."
The investigation by Michigan State Police (MSP) showed video of Wymer at a McDonald's just before 9 p.m., purchasing food.
Another note written in crayon apologizes to GRPD and thanks them for "caring and watching out".
The third, this one typed, details his struggle to get help for mental health and suicidal contemplation. Scrawled below are the words "I really can't be violent, I'm Hank."
MSP's investigation found Wymer had been released from Trinity Health Hospital earlier that day and, "in the heat of the moment by the Social Worker that was on-scene in the trauma bay", a comment was made to an officer indicating Wymer had made suicidal statements during his time at the hospital.
"This is a terrible tragedy," Becker wrote." Clearly Mr. Wymer had a history of mental health issues. It is extremely difficult to tell if he was in the proper state of mind when he engaged in the behavior he did that night."
Becker cited precedent for self-defense as laid out by Michigan law under the Self-Defense Act and historical court opinion stating the belief of self-defense "does not... have to be correct. Self-defense justifies the use of deadly force in response to an honest and reasonable belief that such force is required to prevent death or great bodily harm, even if that belief is in error People v Shelton 64 Mich App 154 (1975)"
"There will never be a completely clear answer to why this happened, however, it is clear to anyone who works in public safety that while we have done much in this community to improve interactions between law enforcement and those with mental health issues, something like this can occur at any time," Becker wrote Friday. "Our Community needs to continue to be mindful of this issue and continue to work on ways to help those with mental health issues so situations like this one do not occur again."
FOX 17 spoke with Naomi Wymer, Hank's sister, who's serving as the family spokesperson. She said she was disappointed and shocked by Friday's ruling.
"I was very disappointed that it turned out he [Hank Wymer] did not have a gun and that it was a cigarette lighter and for them to say that it looked enough like a handgun to shoot him seven times," Naomi said. "That just seems crazy to me.
"I think this has left us with a lot more questions, particularly the hospital that he was released from that day. [Hank] told them that he was going to commit suicide by cop, so why was he released?
Naomi would go on to say, "I would like to seek some legal action and fight this because it doesn't seem right to me."
"I didn't expect [the officers who shot Mr. Wymer] would go to jail, but I thought there would be some kind of repercussion for killing a man who didn't have a weapon."
Michigan State Police investigated the shooting and the three officers involved were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
GRPD told FOX 17 Friday that those three officers have been reinstated to full-time duty.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
