The Richmond Police Department on Monday released partial video footage from officers’ body-worn cameras showing the moments before two officers shot and killed 27-year-old suspect Angel Montano at an Iron Triangle apartment a week ago.
According to an approximately eight-minute video and audio montage, which has some audio and visuals redacted, six officers responded, including Nicholas Remick and Colton Stocking, to an apartment unit at 480 First St. just after 5 p.m. Aug. 4 after police received a 911 call that Montano was armed with a knife and threatening to kill his mother and brother.
At one point, on the dispatch audio a man identified as Montano’s brother can be heard telling a police dispatcher that his mother is standing between him and Montano.
“She doesn’t want him or me to stab each other,” the caller says, after which both he and Montano’s mother can be heard saying, “Put down the knife. Please, Angel put down the knife.”
His brother described the knives to dispatchers as a “small kitchen knife” and a “regular small utility knife.”
Just seconds later, Montano, wearing a Grinch T-shirt, emerged quickly through the front door of the dark apartment with a knife in each hand and was shot. At a press conference broadcast by KTVU Monday, Police Chief Bisa French said, “Despite repeated commands to stop, the individual continued to advance toward the officers. At that time, an officer involved shooting occurred. Tragically, the subject succumbed to his injuries on scene.”
It is unclear from the video how many shots were fired, as the audio was muted.
According to Richmond police spokesperson Lt. Donald Patchin, police were involved in at least two incidents involving Montano, a Richmond High School graduate who served in the Marines, according to his family. French said during the press conference that it’s her understanding that the family had tried to get Montano help for mental health issues for about a year.
David Nieto, a childhood friend of Montano’s, said the family called the police seeking help for Montano. They never expected that call would lead to his death.
“There’s tasers, there’s rubber bullets…They don’t go get a school shooter with guns,” Nieto told Richmondside Monday. “They managed to train all these cops to not kill the school shooters, right? But they weren’t able to freaking do that for someone in distress and obviously not in the best mental state?
French said that the responding officers had tried to avoid firing their weapons.
“Officer Remick coordinated with his supervisor and additional units to request less lethal options including a 40mm sponge round launcher and a ballistics shield,” she said. “The officers also explored the possibility of the mother and brother of the 911 caller safely exiting the residence. However, the 911 caller advised dispatch that they were unable to do so because the armed subject was standing at the doorway blocking their way out.”
French said that the department is committed to “transparency” and that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
“This is an extremely unfortunate and tragic event,” she said. “Our hearts go out to everyone involved and especially the family of the involved individual. The events of that day profoundly affect the family, our community and, not just the officers involved, but the entire department.”
French also asked the media to listen to the dispatch audio, which she said would be released alongside the body-cam footage.
“It is absolutely heartbreaking to hear the fear of the family as well as the attempts that were made to get this individual the mental help that he needed.” French said. “As a society we continue to talk about mental health and alternative responses but we still leave it up to mentally ill individuals to make decisions that they are clearly not capable of making and something has to change.”
Admitting she doesn’t have the answers, French said she is hopeful that there will be “conversations about legislation and laws to get people who need mental heath assistance the help they need so that we do not end up in these kinds of situations.”
Patchin, when asked by reporters if bringing in a mental health crisis team was considered, said that was not an option given the reports that Montano was armed and making threats.
“These mental health teams are not armed or equipped to deal with armed and violent subjects,” Patchin said. “The minute there’s a weapon involved and there’s threats to kill or harm people it changes the scenario and they would have not been able to respond.”
Patchin also said that Montano’s brother pleaded for officers to enter the home, according to dispatch audio, after Montano picked up a second knife.
“Their (officers’) belief at that time was that there was an immediate need for them to go inside,” he said.
When asked by reporters why Remick was back on active duty following his involvement in the February fatal shooting of a suspect that is still under investigation, Patchin said that there are differences in how such incidents are reviewed by the Department of Justice and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. He said that DOJ investigations can take several years while the DA’s office inquiry can often take more than a year.
“As such, once the details of the investigation appear to be clearly known, a week or however long it takes for the details to be at least on the face clearly known, that information is provided to the chief of police,” he said. “On a case-by-case basis, the chief then evaluates the officers involved in that incident — are they allowed to return to full duty.”
Patchin said clear violations of the law or policy are things a chief considers when evaluating whether an officer should being cleared to return to duty. He said an officer must receive a mental health clearance, which he said happened in the February shooting.
Remick was reinstated on Feb. 20, according to Patchin. Following last week’s shooting, both he and Colton remain on administrative leave pending the department’s investigation.
Also on Monday, Richmond Police Officers Association President Ben Therriault released a statement directed at media outlets, including Richmondside, criticizing them for publishing the names of the officers involved in Montano’s shooting, saying revealing their identities before the department completed its required notification process is a violation of California’s peace officer privacy protections, which primarily govern the confidentiality of peace officer and custodial officer personnel records.
“Today’s (body cam) footage reminds us that policing often requires relentless courage under threat — not hindsight-fueled accusations. Our officers deserve fairness, accuracy, and respect,” the statement reads, in part.
Nieto said he hopes that some sort of justice can be found for Montano.
“If it’s better training, if it’s not giving too many chances to cops that do this, you know, just some sort of justice, something,” he said. “Hopefully something does (change). But even that, some sort of justice, won’t bring him back.”
All of the public documents related to this case have been posted on the city’s website.
Richmondside reporter Jana Kadah contributed to this report.
