Coroner identifies 51-year-old Richmond man fatally shot by Richmond Police

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Coroner’s Division has identified Jose Mendez-Rios, 51, of Richmond, as the suspect fatally shot by Richmond Police last week.

Richmond police officers were attempting to locate Mendez-Rios, who was reportedly wanted on a probation violation warrant related to domestic violence charges.

Richmond Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Donald Patchin said officers located the subject on the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way just west of the 300 block of Carlson Boulevard on Tuesday, February 4.

Wanted suspect fatally shot by Richmond Police after standoff on Carlson Boulevard

A wanted suspect was fatally shot Tuesday night by Richmond police officers following a standoff near the 300 block of Carlson Boulevard, authorities said.

Grandview IndependentSoren Hemmila

“The subject refused to cooperate with officers, and a standoff ensued. Officers spent approximately 32 minutes attempting to de-escalate the situation and reach a peaceful resolution. At approximately 8:53 p.m., an officer-involved shooting occurred, and the wanted subject sustained fatal injuries,” Patchin said.

Police said that during the standoff the suspect wielded an object that appeared to be a knife and ignored multiple commands to drop the object. 

“Despite our officer’s efforts to defuse the situation and end the standoff peacefully, the suspect charged the officers with the object in his hand while raising it in a threatening manner. This resulted in an officer-involved shooting occurring,” police said.

Later, police determined the object was not a knife but a knife sheath and shared a photo of the object on social media.

The shooting was reported to the California Department of Justice, which dispatched investigators to the scene. The DOJ classifies the officer-involved fatal incident as “unarmed.”

Update: California DOJ investigating Richmond Police officer-involved shooting

The California Department of Justice has launched an investigation into an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of a suspect in Richmond, authorities said Wednesday.

Grandview IndependentSoren Hemmila

“We are fully cooperating with the DOJ’s independent investigation, and a link to their announcement is below,” police said.

The California DOJ will independently review the officer-involved shooting under Assembly Bill 1506, according to a statement by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“The OIS incident resulted in the death of one individual and involved personnel from the Richmond Police Department,” according to the statement. “Following notification by local authorities, DOJ’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team initiated an investigation in accordance with AB 1506 mandates.” 

Upon completion, the investigation will be transferred to the DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review.

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