Update: Family says victim of police shooting suffered mental illness

The brother of a Whitefish man who was shot and killed by California law enforcement last week says the use of deadly force was unwarranted and that mental illness played a role in the incident.

Steven Hughes Henning of Whitefish, 32, was fatally shot by law enforcement in Weed, Calif., on the evening of Oct. 24 after he allegedly attacked a police officer, tried to steal a patrol vehicle and attempted to injure a police dog.

According to a press release from the Weed Police Department in Northern California, the confrontation began when Henning started a fire on a wood porch in front of the Greyhound bus stop in Weed.

When approached by an officer, Henning allegedly refused to put out the fire and “aggressively and violently resisted arrest, despite an attempt by the officer to subdue him with a Taser,” the release states.

As the altercation escalated, Henning reportedly jumped into the officer’s patrol car and attempted to steal the vehicle.

The officer used pepper spray in an attempt to subdue Henning as a “volatile struggle occurred inside the patrol unit,” the release states.

Henning then exited the patrol car and fled on foot after picking up the officer’s Taser that fell to the ground during the struggle.

Officers found Henning later that night near a freeway overpass. A police K-9 unit was brought in and Henning again “violently resisted” and attempted to injure the police dog, the release states.

“During the extremely violent encounter the level of violence exhibited by [Henning] escalated,” the release states.

Both a Weed Police officer and Siskiyou County deputy shot Henning, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The case is under investigation by the Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office, Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department and Weed Police Department.

Calls by the Pilot to Siskiyou District Attorney Kirk Andrus were not immediately returned on Monday. It is unknown whether Henning was armed or how many times he was shot.

Both officers involved in the shooting are reportedly on paid administrative leave.

Henning’s brother Cody Henning tells the Pilot that Henning suffered from schizoaffective disorder. He says Henning was likely scared into resisting arrest and was set into a manic episode.

“When Steve would get frightened, his way of reacting was always with perceived aggression,” Cody explained.

“I can only imagine this incident was caused by his fight or flight response being provoked by police in some unlawful manner,” Cody said.

He said Henning was claustrophobic and likely trying to “escape his greatest fear of being in a cell.”

“The actions of the police who shot him are under investigation and highly suspect to police brutality and excessive force,” Cody added.

In 2008, Henning was sentenced in Flathead County District Court to six years of probation after he led Whitefish Police on a high-speed chase through downtown.

Henning was arrested on Christmas Day of 2007 after he allegedly threatened his parents with a sledgehammer. His parents subsequently bailed him out of Flathead County Detention Center.

The parents called 911 for help two days later after Henning allegedly threatened them, kicked in a door, broke into a gun cabinet, stole a .357 magnum handgun and took off with the parents’ Dodge pickup truck.

“We needed a reason for police intervention,” Cody explained about the incident. “The only way we could get the police to our house was to call in an assault charge, even though the threats levied by him were harmless.”

Police chased Henning at speeds reaching 80 mph and later arrested him.

Henning admitted to being under the influence of cocaine and ecstasy in that incident.

Cody says Henning was trying to self-medicate for his bi-polar and schizoaffective disorder. He was eventually given prescription drugs for the disorder after a clinical diagnosis, Cody explained.