UPDATED 7:34 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – The fatal shooting of Samuel Vincent Richmond by police in October last year was justified.
That’s according to the final report of the investigation released Wednesday by the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The incident occurred in Martin Luther King Jr. Park on October 3rd, 2022.
The report details that officers heard a gunshot as they responded to a ShotSpotter alert just after 10:00 P.M. to 709 West Hurlburt St. That gunshot was corroborated to have come from near the pavilion at the park.
A short time after that, a 911 call came in from a friend of Richmond’s, who described him as depressed and intoxicated. A toxicology report confirmed that Richmond’s BAC was 0.256. The friend also stated that Richmond was going to shoot himself and showed the friend the gun.
On the second 911 call, the caller said that Richmond drove from the friend’s house spoke to him on the phone a short time after at a pavilion. Richmond fired a round from the gun, then stated that the next one is for him.
Officers made contact with Richmond at the park behind a tree with the first officer asking him to show his hands. Richmond instead raised a handgun and pointed it at officers.
The officer then tried to tell Richmond to drop the gun but was forced to fire his weapon at Richmond almost immediately, who fell forward while still holding the gun.
Three other officers arrived on scene who also saw him holding a gun, with all four firing their weapons when Richmond did not comply in dropping his gun.
The report also says there was also a suicide note left to his wife before the incident in the park.
The report concludes by saying that while Richmond was not intending to harm anyone but himself, officers were unaware of his intentions and reasonably feared for their lives.
A statement released last week from Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos stated the officers involved would not be facing charges.
WMBD News has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the final Illinois State Police report on the death. We have yet to receive it, only a notice that the report is delayed.
CLICK HERE to read the State’s Attorney’s full report (PDF file).
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