A second jury has opted not to indict a fired police officer for manslaughter after he fatally shot a shoplifting suspect on a mobility scooter.
On Wednesday, the second grand jury returned a no-bill vote regarding ex-cop Ryan Remington’s case relating to the killing of Richard Lee Richards, 61, in November 2021, in Arizona, US.
Remington was working off-duty security at a Walmart store when he confronted the man over a stolen toolbox. Richards had reportedly threatened a store employee with a knife.
In footage from the scene, Remington appears in the parking lot yelling at Richards ordering him to stop and not enter the shop.
Richard continues heading through the Walmart entrance until Remington fires his gun nine times, killing him.
Following the shooting, Remington was fired from the Tucson Police Department. Richards’ family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against him and the City of Tucson.
The lawsuit was filed in September in federal court on behalf of Richard Lee Richards and Victoria Richards, his sister, Arizona Daily Star reported.
Remington was initially indicted on the manslaughter charge in August, however, his attorneys challenged that indictment, arguing that it was unfair because the information presented to the first grand jury was misleading.
Attorney Mike Storie commented: "We challenged the first one and the judge ruled it unfair. Obviously, the grand jury had more common sense than Regina Romero and (Pima County Attorney) Laura Conover."
A judge ordered last month Remington's indictment be returned to the grand jury. Pima County Attorney’s Office said in a statement: "Victim notification is our focus and top priority at this hour, as the matter continues under our review."
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Richards had been sentenced to prison time in the 1980s after being found guilty of burglary and armed robbery.
In 2007, he was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and resisting arrest. He was released in January 2018.
In early 2020, he was again sentenced for "transporting illegal aliens for profit" and in November of the same year, his probation was revoked and he was sentenced to five months in prison.
According to a 2021 sentencing memo seen by KOLD News 13, Richards had a hip replacement while in prison which "did not heal properly", while he also suffered brain damage. His attorney at the time, Brick P Storts III, said that is why he was in a wheelchair.
Richards' younger sister, Victoria, spoke out on his killing and said that she remembers him as a creative, energetic, and loving brother.
She told KGUN 9: "I can't watch that video, I can't. I saw it once and I can't watch it anymore. Because I feel every one of those shots that hit my brother.
"We were really close because a lot of times it was just him and I. We were always in new schools and he made friends very easily, he was very outgoing."
She explained that Richards had a troubled upbringing and that physical and emotional abuse from their father led him to heroin addiction.
She continued: "I spent most of my life helping him, trying to help him, being there for him. He just had so much turmoil in his life. [...] I just wanted his last years to be nice. And I didn’t get to do that for him."
