Officer Richards is a member of Vault 101 security in Fallout 3. He guards the locked atrium door to the Vault 101 entrance together with Officer O'Brian.
A little more stable than his sadistic partner, Richards is nonetheless perfectly willing to open fire on hapless dwellers, as per his standing orders. The posting at the atrium door, separating the entrance from the rest of the Vault, is a perfect spot for this.[Non-game 1]
Escape!: O'Brian and Richards will immediately open fire on the player when they notice them. They will also kill Tom and Mary Holden, who try to make a run for it - unless the player character is spotted first, causing both officers to attack them instead of the Holdens, who will flee to safety. If Richards isn't killed, he'll later appear again at the Vault door and immediately attack.
In Escape!, the CG04SecurityRichardsKendall topic suggests that John Kendall would meet with Richards at the atrium, if Kendall wasn't killed by the player or the roaches:
Richards: "Hey, John. What did you find?"
Kendall: "He/She was leaving his quarters just as I got there, but then I got jumped by some roaches and he/she got away."
Richards: "Don't worry, we'll find that little punk/bitch. He/She can't hide forever."
Kendall: "Righto. Give a yell if you see anything. I'm going to head down this way."
