A Buffalo City Court judge set bail at $15,000 Wednesday for Willie Henley, the 60-year-old Buffalo man who was shot Sept. 12 by a Buffalo police officer and was charged with assault for allegedly hitting another police officer with a baseball bat.
Henley appeared in court before Judge Debra Give ns via videoconference from the Erie County Holding Center where he was being held pending the results of forensic exams to assess his mental health. He was initially being held at Erie County Medical Center where he was recuperating from the gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Two forensic exams were conducted to assess Henley's mental health, Givens said Wednesday. The reports indicated he was competent to proceed with his case through the legal system, Givens said.
But the judge raised concerns about Henley's well-being once he's released. She noted that she has noticed that it's been especially hard to link people with appropriate resources, including housing and mental health treatment, amid the pandemic.
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On the afternoon of Sept. 12, police received a 911 call about a person having a mental health crisis, Assistant District Attorney John P. Feroleto told Givens. The caller reported an older man had been yelling for hours and was holding a baseball bat. Police officers followed him on foot for several blocks before Henley hit one officer twice with the bat twice and was swinging the bat to hit her again when another officer shot him.
The officer who was hit, Alyssa Peron, was a rookie who was three days out of the police academy. The officer who shot Henley, Karl Schulz, was her field training officer, the officers' attorney, Thomas H. Burton, previously told The Buffalo News. The shooting remains under investigation.
Henley was charged with one count of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies.
The incident touched off multiple protests in Buffalo and renewed calls to divert mental health calls away from the police. The incident also raised questions about why Buffalo police officers don't have Tasers or other less lethal weapons to use in such situations. Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown and Common Council President Darius G. Pridgen announced Friday a $3.9 million police reform package for the Council to consider, including the purchase of Tasers.
Henley was living at the City Mission at the time of the shooting, Feroleto said Wednesday in court.
The judge also talked about Henley's criminal history which hint at mental health issues, including a bench warrant that was out on him at the time of the shooting.
The bench warrant had been issued in May 2018 after he failed to show up for sentencing in the city's mental health court on a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge to which he pleaded guilty. The charge stemmed from a December 2017 arrest in which he allegedly hit a police officer in the back of the head, arrest records show.
Henley's attorney, Samantha White, said that Henley's daughter, Monique, would take him in and that his family is committed to getting him the help he needs.
"Now his family is very interested in connecting him with resources," White said.
Givens said she hoped that the family would be able to have arrangements in place before he's released on bail.
Henley is next scheduled to appear in court for a felony hearing at 2 p.m. Monday.
Maki Becker
