California Department of Justice Releases Report on Officer-Involved Shooting of John Romero

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1506 (AB 1506), today released a report on the death of John Romero from an officer-involved shooting in San Diego, California, on December 8, 2022. The incident involved officers from the San Diego Police Department (SDPD). The report is part of the California Department of Justice's (DOJ) ongoing efforts to provide transparency and accountability in law enforcement practices. The report provides a detailed analysis of the incident and outlines DOJ's findings. After a thorough investigation, DOJ concluded that criminal charges were not appropriate in this case.

"Loss of life is always a tragedy. AB 1506 is a critical transparency and accountability tool, and our hope for this report is to provide some understanding and aid in advancing towards a safer California for all," saidAttorney General Bonta. "Together, we aim to foster a system that not only protects the rights of individuals but also promotes trust and accountability between law enforcement and our communities."

On December 8, 2022, SDPD responded to a call of a man pointing a handgun at his head. Once SDPD officers arrived, they found John Romero had left the location on a bicycle. When officers located him again in a driveway near a parked car, Romero continued to point the handgun at his head and did not obey officers' commands to drop the handgun. He kept telling officers to shoot him. After Romero ignored commands and walked towards officers, one officer fired three bean bag rounds. Romero ducked behind a car, stood up, and started to raise his handgun when he was lethally shot. It was discovered that the handgun was an airsoft gun with no markings that distinguished it from a real handgun.

Under AB 1506, which requires DOJ to investigate all incidents of officer-involved shootings resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state, DOJ conducted a thorough investigation into this incident and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officers involved acted without the intent to defend themselves and others from what they reasonably believed to be the imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution of the officers and no further action will be taken in this case.

As part of its investigation, DOJ has identified three policy recommendations related to this incident. The first is that SDPD should provide additional training to improve command and communication in situations where multiple units respond to calls about suicidal persons with deadly weapons. The second is that SDPD should develop scenario-based training about deployment tactics and responding to persons experiencing a mental health crisis with a deadly weapon. The third is that SDPD should amend its use of force policy to ensure the policy clearly states that de-escalation techniques and crisis intervention tactics are mandatory when feasible, and that the level of force is proportional to the seriousness of the suspected offense in accordance with Government Code section 7286, subdivision (b).

Here is a copy of the report.