The former NYPD detective accused of shooting and killing a man in a fit of road rage on the George Washington Bridge on Tuesday was held on $1 million bail at his arraignment in Manhattan court on Thursday.
Judge Kevin McGrath sided with prosecutors in setting the high bail for 62-year-old Victor Romero, who police say shot and killed 46-year-old Koran Irvine.
Assistant District Attorney Matt Sears called it a “particularly senseless killing” as he read out the facts of the case, describing how surveillance video captured Romero’s car aggressively following Irvine’s vehicle after a near-crash as the two approached the bridge from 179th Street around 7 p.m. A few minutes later, he said Romero fired his gun from the driver’s seat, fatally striking Irvine behind his right shoulder. Romero then drove into New Jersey without stopping, Sears said.
Romero, who has been charged with manslaughter, downgraded from the murder charge initially faced, remained silent throughout the proceeding. In arguing for the judge to consider a lower bail amount, Romero’s attorney Alan Abramson called him a “hero police officer” with a “sterling record” who was once struck during a shootout where he prevented other people from getting hurt.
Abramson said Romero has a wife and four children, and had recently been working as a security director.
Prosecutors said Romero was arrested at work in Manhattan on Wednesday, and said detectives recovered a revolver from him there, which he admitted he carried daily. They said police also recovered two additional handguns from his home, which are all still being processed for forensic evidence.
Irvine’s relatives were present in the courtroom Thursday, and addressed reporters outside after the arraignment.
“My brother is a hero, and he’s my hero,” Irvine’s sister Zeria Irvine said through tears. “I talked to him every single day on that commute.“
The family is investigating a lawsuit against Romero and the security company they believe he worked for. After court, they lashed out at the special treatment they think Romero received.
“The judge granted that million dollars bail over our objection,” said Keith White, an attorney representing the Irvine family. “After the degree of danger that he’s shown after being the flight risk that he is, we think it’s a travesty, a miscarriage of justice.”
A GoFundMe for the husband and father of two had raised over $175,000 as of Thursday afternoon. Irvine’s employer, utility company Con Edison, issued a statement saying employees are “heartbroken” and called the shooting a “senseless act of violence.”
This has been updated with additional reporting.