Myron Berryman was shot outside of the White House on Aug. 10 by Secret Service who believed he had a gun, but according to charging documents, he was holding a comb.
Berryman, a 51-year-old Black man, was charged with one count of assault on a police officer related to the incident. According to reports, he has been moved to a psychiatric hospital.
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The Washington Post reported Aug. 13 that Berryman walked up to a uniformed officer and said that he was armed. He then reached along the right side of his body to grasp an object. Reports say that the man “assumed a shooting stance,” and he was shot once in the torso.
The newspaper is now claiming that charging documents filed Wednesday state a black object was seen falling from Berryman’s hands after his shooting, and a comb was found at the scene.
The incident caused a press conference led by President Donald Trump to be disrupted. The president was whisked away from the White House press room podium by Secret Service agents.
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Berryman’s sister told The New York Post her brother may have been taking part in demonstrations outside of the White House in response to the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“Myron is always encouraging everybody,” she said anonymously. “He has never had anything negative to say. He always encourages people.”
Reports state that Berryman threatened officers, telling them, “I’m going to kill you.” None of those comments were mentioned in the initial charging documents.
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The former boxer remains under observation at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington and was not present for court proceedings. The Post is reporting that Berryman told officers after the incident that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had previously been housed in a residential psychiatric facility. He said that he left the facility the day he was shot.
The Post says Berryman told officers he had stopped taking medication for his mental illness three years before the shooting. He has since resumed taking medication.
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