Family and friends of a man fatally shot Tuesday night by Richmond police have identified him as Jose De Jesus Mendez, 51, of Richmond.
Officers shot and killed Mendez off of Carlson and Cutting boulevards during what police described as a 30-minute “stand-off” related to a domestic violence probation violation. Police believed Mendez had a knife, according to their statement and a transcript of dispatch audio reviewed by Richmondside, but ultimately it was found to be a knife sheath.
Although police have not released his name nor the names of the officer or officers who shot him, Mendez’ family spoke with Richmondside at their home Friday and confirmed it was him who was killed. They said that Mendez had been living nearby in a tent at a homeless encampment. The camp wasn’t far from where he was shot alongside the railroad tracks that run through the neighborhood.
Richmondside is not publishing the names of the family members because they say they’ve been threatened since the shooting and are afraid for their safety because some people are blaming them for his death.
According to the family, although there was a restraining order, Mendez “never respected it.”
“My mom was still nice,” Mendez’ stepson said. “Sometimes he would contact her or us and ask for food. That’s where we would help out in that case.”
But there were other times, the stepson added, that Mendez would arrive at their home agitated and under the influence of substances and would have “episodes.”
In those instances, Richmond police had to be called. Once, in 2022, police spent almost an hour resolving a situation with him outside the family’s home, family members said.
If you need help
If you’re experiencing domestic violence, you can call the 24-hour National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or send a text to 88788.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Lifeline at “988.”
For assistance locally, Concord-based STAND aims to reduce family violence in Contra Costa County and says it helps more than 10,000 clients annually by providing “comprehensive prevention, intervention, and treatment services to end the cycle of violence.”
“They knew him,” said one family member, referring to Richmond police officers. “When the restraining order was placed, I would call several times, and by the time they would get here he was gone.”
On Tuesday officers went to look for Mendez at 5:38 p.m. — nearly three hours before the shooting — but could not find him, according to Richmond Police Department incident report data.
The family didn’t find out he had been killed until Richmond police called them late Wednesday morning to set up a meeting with them. They initially thought Mendez had been arrested again.
“He (the RPD detective) was questioning me, and I asked him ‘Maybe you have him in custody’ but he didn’t know how to respond,” the family member said.
According to the family member, Mendez had previously sent texts stating that he would resist being arrested and that “you would have to kill him.” These texts were shared with police, they said, though family members said Mendez was also known for “talking a lot.”
“I really don’t know why no one listened,” the family member said, fighting back tears. “They knew what he was going to do. It had happened so many times.”
Richmond police were contacted for comment on the family’s identification of Mendez but did not respond by publication time.
Occupants of the encampment where Mendez was staying told Richmondside Friday that Mendez knew that he was violating the restraining order. They said a family member who came to the camp Tuesday got into an argument with Mendez after asking him to leave them alone.
“He knew he wasn’t supposed to be living here or on the tracks,” said Oscar Ortiz.
Ortiz said some hours after Mendez’ argument with the family member, police arrived looking for him. That’s when, he said, Mendez walked down the tracks and was followed by police.
The Richmond Police Department said in its public statement that Mendez was shot in the 300 block of Carlson Boulevard at 8:53 p.m. after “…wielding an object that appeared to be a knife. The subject 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.”
The object was later found to be a knife sheath.
“I just don’t know why they didn’t give him an electric shock,” Ortiz said, referring to a taser.
Was the victim Spanish-speaking? When the police asked him things, did they speak to him in Spanish? In other words, did he understand their commands?