This is the second fatal police shooting that Remick has been involved in this year. In February, he was one of two officers who fatally shot Jose Mendez-Rios, 51, after he refused to cooperate with law enforcement, spurring a 30-minute standoff.
Remick and Officer Jessica Khalil reportedly believed Mendez-Rios was wielding a knife, though the item he held was later found to be an empty sheath.
Following that shooting, the officers were placed on administrative leave, but Patchin told KQED that Remick returned to duty just two weeks later. He said that the department customarily puts officers on leave immediately following a shooting, and once the police chief is briefed on the circumstances, they decide whether officers can return to duty on a case-by-case basis.
An investigation into that shooting was turned over to the California Department of Justice since no weapon was involved. That investigation is ongoing.
Remick, who joined the Richmond Police Department in January 2023, is also named in two pending police brutality lawsuits. In one, he is accused of using excessive force against a man who was filming a police chase last spring.
Kwesi Guss, a Richmond-based cowboy, alleged that he was recording the activity after the vehicles involved in the chase pulled to a stop in front of Joe’s Market in Richmond.
He said that another officer, Sgt. Alexander Caine, began pushing him and telling him to move. After a bystander intervened, Caine stopped, but Remick approached Guss and “continued the assault,” according to the complaint.
Court filings say Caine and Remick then grabbed Guss, handcuffed him, kicked his ankle to force him to the ground and placed their knees on his back and ribs.
Following the altercation, Guss was treated for a head injury, rib bruising and lower back and rib pain during two separate emergency room visits, the complaint said.
John Burris, a civil rights attorney who is representing Guss, said he was not surprised Remick had been involved in another violent incident.
“That’s two people dead, who otherwise shouldn’t be dead, but for his conduct,” he said. “He’s involved in two shootings and a beating. I don’t know what his overall background is, but of course, there should be some limitation on his exposure to the public.”
Remick and Stocking have both been placed on leave following last week’s shooting, but Patchin on Monday defended Remick.
“I think, again, once we’re able to fully provide the details of what occurred in that incident [Guss’s beating] and what his actions and actual involvement were in that accident, that it will paint a much clearer picture as far as why he’s remained on duty,” he said.
The Richmond Police Department and Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office are both investigating last week’s shooting. Final results of those efforts could take more than a year.
