Man shot and killed by GRPD had long mental illness history

If you or someone you know are in crisis, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached anytime by calling 988.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The man shot and killed by Grand Rapids police after wielding what looked like a gun had a long history of mental health treatment, court records show.

While police have yet to release the man's identity, family confirmed that it was 38-year-old Henry Wymer who died in the shooting outside Trinity Health in Grand Rapids Friday night.

Man with apparent gun shot by officers, killed near Trinity Health in Grand Rapids

Court records show Wymer, who went by Hank, had last listed an address at Mel Trotter Ministries, a homeless shelter about four blocks from where he died. Before that, records show, he had been homeless in Holland, where family said he was raised.

Kent and Ottawa county probate court records show Wymer suffered with mental illness most, if not all, of his adult life. He had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and acute psychosis, suffered hallucinations and had tried repeatedly to die by suicide, usually with pills. Records show he often refused to take his meds.

"I know it's not an easy problem to solve," said Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom, who suspects the man was trying to die by so-called "suicide by cop."

"I know it's very complex, but it is frustrating to think that this young man got help over and over from very well-meaning people," the chief continued. "We have some great groups in this city who are working in the space of mental health."

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In 2016, Wymer pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in Ottawa County Circuit Court after pouring lighter fluid and setting up fireworks around the home of an acquaintance in Holland. When police arrested him outside the home, he was carrying a wire garrote, a tool with handles used for strangulation. But, he told police, he had no plans to start the fire and was trying only to scare her.

By that time, he told clinicians he had been in psychiatric hospitals more than 20 times.

The last record in probate court was in 2023, when a judge ordered him discharged from a mental health hospital, to continue taking his meds and to participate in mental health programs. By then, he had moved to Grand Rapids from Holland.

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Wymer was brandishing what appeared to be a gun just before 11 p.m. Friday, police said.

"Officers who arrived there were unfamiliar with the gentleman there and, of course, didn't have any idea of any sort of medical history or mental health history or anything like that," Winstrom said.

"He's pointing the gun at me," an officer can be heard saying in dashboard camera video released by GRPD the day after the shooting.

The video shows Wymer ignored officers' commands to drop it.

Police said three officers fired at the man. Video shows about eight shots fired in all. It's not clear how many times Wymer was hit. Autopsy results were pending.

The chief said it looked like a gun in the man's hand, but that state police, who are investigating, haven't told him what it was.

"From about here to about 10 feet away is when I looked at it and I thought that doesn't look like an actual functioning firearm to me," Winstrom said. "It could have been a toy, it could have been a gun-shaped lighter... To be honest, I thought, could it be a hose nozzle?"

The chief said officers who arrived later recognized the man.

"Grand Rapids police had interacted with him several times over the past month or so and essentially were assisting him to get mental health treatment," he said.

It's not clear what led Wymer to the area of Trinity Health.

"I'm not ready to say that we failed him, you know, as a city, but I think there's progress to be made in mental health treatment and this definitely puts an exclamation point on how serious this issue is," the chief said.

Wymer's family declined to comment for this report, saying they are waiting for the results of the investigation by Michigan State Police. The officers involved remain on paid leave, which is standard procedure.