Attorney: Tucson officer tried deescalating before fatal shooting

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Tucson Police Officer’s Association attorney Mike Storie said Officer Ryan Remington had no choice but to shoot Richard Lee Richards Monday night.

TUCSON, Arizona – The Tucson Police Officer’s Association attorney said Wednesday that an officer who police said shot a man in a wheelchair stolen from a Walmart in Tucson had no other option.

Tucson police moved to live with Fire Officer Ryan Remington on Monday night following the incident.

Body camera footage shows the victim, Richard Lee Richards, was shot nine times.

RELATED: Tucson police officer charged with shooting a man in a wheelchair 9 times in the back

The video does not show the full incident

Attorney Mike Storie said the video of the incident released by Tucson police did not reveal the full story of what happened Monday night.

Tucson police said Remington was off duty at a Walmart in Tucson Monday night.

Police said Richards, who was 61 years old, stole a toolbox from Walmart and brandished a knife when an employee asked for a receipt. Tucson Police Chief Chris Mangus alleged that Richards said “Here is your receipt” when he showed the clerk the knife.

The employee called Remington to help with the situation, police said.
In the video released by the Tucson Police Department, Remington is seen next to Richards, who police say was in a motorized wheelchair as he rolled across the parking lot.

“He’s trying to convince and de-escalate this guy, and that’s what he’s trying to do,” said Storie.

Police said Richards kept walking away from Walmart towards a Lowe’s. Walmart and Lowe’s are not in the same parking lot, but are separated by a couple of shops and a side street. However, the video doesn’t show the entirety of Remington’s interactions with Richards between the two stores.

Storie said throughout the interaction leading up to the last incident, Remington had been working to de-escalate the situation.

“At no point does the officer know, ‘Will it end this minute? Is the guy just wanna say I’m done? Is he going to his car? Will the guy go home? ‘ No, he doesn’t know, ”said Storie.

Storie criticized the statement made Tuesday by Tucson Mayor Regina Romero calling Remington’s actions “untenable”.

Storie said that since not all of the facts had been made public, Romero’s statement would only “heat up the community”.

9 shots fired

Tucson Police said Remington shot Richards nine times in the back and side while walking to the Garden Center at Lowe.

Remington can be heard on the video released by the Tucson Police Department telling Richards not to enter the store.

Storie said the concern arose over the Lowe employee standing at the garden center.

“Back then, tasing wasn’t an option,” said Storie.

In a brief press conference on Tuesday, at which Chief Chris Mangus asked no questions, Mangus was critical of Remington’s actions.

“His use of lethal force in this incident is a clear violation of department policy and directly contradicts several aspects of our violence training,” said Mangus.

“I disagree,” said Storie when 12 News asked about Mangus’ characterization.

Storie realized that Remington’s actions, particularly the number of times he shot Richards and his behavior thereafter, could be “offensive” to some.

“The police business is sometimes chaotic,” said Storie.

Remingtons Background

Tucson police said Remington had been in the department for four years and went through their academy where he received a psychological evaluation.

Storie said Remington worked with Walmart for years off-duty.

While on duty, Tucson Police told 12 News that Remington had been reassigned to their Operations Division South.

While the division was moving to fire Remington, Storie said they will appeal if Remington’s resignation comes through.

Richards has decades of crime history

Tucson police said they are investigating whether Remington had ever met Richards before. Storie said Remington had never interacted with Richards.

Richards had a criminal history in Arizona that dates back to the 1980s.

Court records show that Richards has been disabled since at least the late 1990s when he fell south of Willcox in the Chiricahua Mountains. However, the court records indicate that he was able to drive a car.

In 1999, records show that Richards was convicted of attempted murder when court records showed that he snatched a police officer’s gun and shot it.

Arizona Justice Department records show he spent years in Arizona’s prisons for crimes.

Federal court records also showed that Richards pleaded guilty to smuggling three people from Mexico into the United States in a car he was driving in 2019.

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