A former Arizona police officer has been indicted on manslaughter charges nine months after he allegedly fatally shot a man in a wheelchair from behind nine times.
Ryan Remington, 32, of the Tucson Police Department was accused of “recklessly” causing the death of 61-year-old Richard Lee Richards during a 30 November 2021 shooting outside of a Walmart, according to court records obtained by KVOA.
A grand jury finally indicted Mr Remington on a manslaughter charge last week.
At the time of the shooting, Mr Remington was off-duty and working “on special duty assignment” as security at the Walmart, where Richards had been accused of stealing a toolbox. When asked by an employee for a receipt, Richards brandished a knife, according to local reports.
Mr Remington then pursued the man through the parking lot and called for backup, warning him to drop the weapon and not to enter a nearby Lowe’s store.
“If you want me to put down the knife, you’re going to have to shoot me,” Richards said, according to the Walmart employee.
In body camera video released by the police department in December, Richards was seen heading toward the entrance of Lowe’s, with Mr Remington and a second officer chasing him.
“When Mr. Richards failed to stop, Officer Remington fired nine rounds striking him in the back and side,” former Tucson Chief Chris Magnus said after releasing the footage in December during a news conference.
“To be very clear, I am deeply disturbed and troubled by Officer Remington’s actions,” he said then. “His use of deadly force in this instance is a clear violation of department policy and directly contradicts multiple aspects of our use of force and training.”
Shortly after the video footage was released, Mr Remington, a four-year veteran with the force, was fired.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero at the time condemned the shooting “unconscionable and indefensible” and in a statement last week, she cited the indictment and said she would continue to work with the local police chief “to ensure that we get to the root causes that prevent tragedies like this in our community.”
The manslaughter indictment arrived after several months of the Pima County Attorney Laura Conover’s office coordinating in an independent investigation, supported by Rick Romley, the long-time Maricopa County Attorney, and Don Conrad, a veteran litigator who served Maricopa County, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office.
“I have ethical duties not to comment on the facts of pending cases, and even more importantly, I will always hold very hallowed the constitutional right to a fair trial,” Ms Conover during a Thursday press conference, adding that the case will now go to trial and her team will “do our best to ensure it will be a fair trial”.
She added in a statement: “My office, despite considerable pressure to rush to judgement, took careful, calculated, and thorough steps to come to this decision. There is no joy in this announcement today. No joy. I cannot turn back the hands of time. Not for Mr. Richards and not for Mr. Remington and his colleagues.”
For Mr Remington’s part, his attorney, Tucson Police Officers Association attorney Michael Storie, has argued that the charge laid against his client “doesn’t fit”, contending that it’s “legal fiction”.
“I’ll be very interested to read the grand jury transcript, and what went on in that room, where I was not present,” said Mr Storie in an interview with KVOA.
In a statement Thursday, the current Tucson Police Chief, Chad Kasmar, said that the officer involved shooting had “greatly impacted” the community and department, but refused to provide comment further noting that the case was in the courts now.
In Arizona, if a person is convicted of manslaughter, which is a class two felony, the punishment can carry a minimum of seven years in prison for a first offence with a maximum of 21 years.
