Myron Berryman was arrested Thursday on a simple charge of law enforcement charges after he was shot in the trunk on Aug. 10 by an officer on the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Berryman, 51, is still recovering from his injury in a psychiatric hospital and did not appear in Washington, DC, Superior Court, said his attorney Daniel K. Dorsey.
Dorsey filed a not guilty plea on behalf of Berryman for the misdemeanor action. If convicted, Berryman will face up to six months in prison, up to a fine of $ 1,000 if both, according to the criminal law.
Surveillance cameras show an object fell from Berryman’s hand which, according to the confirmation, turned out to be a black comb.
The incident interrupted a briefing by President Donald Trump, who had been a midfielder when security entered the room and asked him to leave the area. Trump was quickly escorted out of the briefing room as a security guard, but officials said the White House complex had not been broken into during the incident “and no protected secret service were ever in danger,” the bureau said in a statement after the shooting.
Two law enforcement officials later told CNN that Berryman was unarmed, but officials did not say what he had.
Courts also say Berryman approached an unknown officer and said, “he is armed,” before leaving. The officer said Berryman then turned around and jumped in his direction, reaching to his right “as if to pick up an object”, according to court documents.
Berryman would then have placed his body in a “shooting position” before the officer opened fire, according to court documents. Details about the officer’s injuries were not mentioned in the court documents.
Berryman allegedly told police on August 17 from his hospital bed that he had been released from a psychiatric hospital three days prior to the shooting and that he was suffering from schizophrenia, according to court documents.
“The only thing he remembers … is that he was lying on the ground, with a black male officer leaning over him and asking him for his name a phone number,” according to Berryman’s police interview, adding , an “officer kept telling him he would ‘make’ and told him to breathe several times.”
Dorsey declined to comment further on the matter.
The judge ordered Berryman to stay away from the White House and the officer. Berryman is expected back in court on January 28, 2021, but prior to his next hearing, he will undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The secret service launched an internal investigation, which is ongoing, and officials said they could not comment further.
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