The California Department of Justice has identified the man shot to death by a Richmond police detective during a confrontation on Interstate 80 in Hercules as Luis Angel Torres Rivera.
His age or city of residency has not been released by the agency, but a service was held in Vacaville on Saturday, according to a Facebook post by the Boys and Girls Club, which posted that, “One of our Club families has suffered the tragic loss and we share in their sadness, especially the girls who are now without their father.”
A GoFundMe, which was launched on Jan. 23. also identified Torres Rivera as the person who died during the incident and has, so far, raised $7,213 of its $7,500 goal.
“Luis was a devoted husband and a loving father whose greatest joy in life was his family. He leaves behind his wife and two daughters, ages 6 and 8, who now face an unimaginable loss,” the GoFundMe said. “This sudden tragedy has left his family not only heartbroken, but navigating a future without the man who was their provider, protector, and biggest source of love.”
Richmondside reached out to the organizer of the GoFundMe but did not hear back by publication time.
Torres Rivera died at about 7:15 a.m. when, Richmond police said, a plain clothes detective, traveling on this way to work westbound on I-80 in an unmarked vehicle, stopped to help a gold Nissan sedan that was blocking the left lane.
The detective reportedly approached Torres Rivera, who was standing near the vehicle while holding a metal object, when an altercation happened and Torres Rivera was shot. An RPD press release referenced “unconfirmed reports” that indicated that Torres Rivera “may have been swinging the object at passing vehicles before the detective’s arrival.”
Torres Rivera was taken to a local hospital where he died later, according to authorities.
Not many details have been released since the incident.
“Following notification of this incident, DOJ’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team initiated an investigation in accordance with AB 1506 mandates,” the release said. “Upon completion of the investigation, it will be turned over to DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review.”
The detective, Richmond police said, was not wearing a body camera because detectives assigned to investigative divisions wear business attire and are not required to wear body cameras. Richmond police added that because the officer was on his way into work that he was considered on duty.
The Richmond Police Department Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) and the city’s Community Police Review Commission (CPRC) will also investigate the detective’s actions. The CPRC is Richmond’s independent civilian oversight body.
Torres Rivera’s death marks the third Richmond officer-involved fatal shooting in the last year. Last February, Jose De Jesus Mendez, 51, was shot and killed along the train tracks near Carlson Boulevard. Seven months later, Angel Montaño, 27, was shot and killed on Aug. 4.
In the Mendez case, officers said they thought he was holding a knife but it later it was determined it was a sheath. In the case of Montaño, body camera video shows he was shot as he came out of his residence holding knives in each hand.
One of the officers, Nicholas Remick, was involved in both shootings, which remain under review by the district attorney.
Anyone who witnessed the fatal shooting of Torres Rivera is encouraged to call the California DOJ at (916) 210-2871.
Wasn’t there, but even if Rivera’s swinging around a “metal object” (tire iron? aluminum baseball bat? sounds like “police speak” to make it seem more “deadly” that it was) if shooting seems necessary to stop the subject from hitting the off duty, un-uniformed officer, then a shot to the leg might be the shot to take. Better yet, get back in your car and call for back up.