Three San Diego police officers who fatally shot a man holding what appeared to be a real gun during a 2022 standoff have been cleared of any criminal liability, the California Department of Justice said Friday, but state investigators recommended a few policy changes for the department.
DOJ released a report from its investigation of the police shooting of John Ray Romero on Dec. 8, 2022. During an early afternoon standoff in City Heights, Romero, 58, held a replica gun, often pointing it at his own head and repeatedly telling officers to shoot him.
DOJ said a detailed analysis of the evidence showed that the three officers who opened fire “actually and reasonably believed that deadly force was necessary to defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officers or others.”
The report also makes three policy recommendations for San Diego police, including additional training regarding command and communication when encountering a suicidal person. The report noted that “during the initial three and a half minutes of the incident, multiple officers were simultaneously giving different verbal commands to Mr. Romero while pointing their guns at him, which was chaotic and confusing.”
The report stated that four of the officers “demonstrated restraint” and attempted to defuse the situation. It noted that one of the officers who opened fire had been repeatedly told to “relax” during the incident. The report stated it might have been “appropriate” to remove the officer from the scene “to avoid unnecessary distraction and tension.”
DOJ’s report additionally calls on San Diego police to amend the department’s use-of-force policy to require that de-escalation techniques and crisis intervention be mandatory when feasible. Such a policy would bring the department into compliance with state law.
San Diego police spokesperson Lt. Cesar Chavez said Friday that the department has received the report “and is in the early stages of reviewing its findings and policy recommendations.”
“We appreciate the DOJ’s thorough investigation of this case and will determine next steps after completing our evaluation,” he said. “SDPD remains committed to the preservation of life as our top priority.”
The report marks the end of the first investigation of law enforcement officers in San Diego County under AB 1506, which requires the DOJ to investigate when officers kill a person not considered armed with a deadly weapon. Under guidance issued by the state, replica firearms are not considered deadly weapons.
The incident started after a 911 caller reported seeing Romero holding a gun to his head while riding a bicycle on Central Avenue near Interstate 15 shortly before 1 p.m. Officers found and pursued him until he stopped in the driveway of an apartment building on 42nd Street.
Video of the incident shows Romero repeatedly telling police to shoot him. Many witnesses said they heard the same. One told investigators they heard officers yell, “Put the gun down! We are here to help! We do not want this to happen!” about 100 times.
At some point, an officer shot Romero with beanbags. Romano ran and ducked behind a parked car. He then re-emerged with the apparent gun in hand. Three officers opened fire. Romero died at the scene.
According to the DOJ report, the item found next to Romero’s hand was determined to be an airsoft gun, although it did not have markings indicating it was not a real gun, such as an orange tip.
The report states that a clinician with the Psychological Emergency Response Team, or PERT, was on-site but stayed inside a police vehicle for safety reasons because Romero held the apparent firearm throughout the incident.
Romero’s toxicology report showed positive findings for ephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, amphetamine and methamphetamine, DOJ’s report stated.
The officers who opened fire were Gregory Bergman and Michael Thornton, who each had been with the department just over two years at the time of the shooting, and Jonathan Estrada, who had been with San Diego police for three years at the time. All three officers are still with the department.
According to the report, fellow officers repeatedly told Bergman to relax, and that Bergman had said he was going to have to “shoot this guy” and that it was “way too dangerous.” The report states that at one point, after being told to relax, Bergman said: “No, I need to shoot this guy, like I – because if I fail to act and I don’t shoot him, he’s going to bring the gun forward and possibly shoot me, shoot another officer, shoot an innocent bystander.”
The incident was his second involvement in a fatal shooting as a San Diego police officer. In 2021, he was one of two officers who opened fire on an armed man running from them through a drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. The man they were chasing had been in a vehicle suspected of being tied to an earlier shooting.
The law requires the DOJ to include policy recommendations when applicable. In addition to calling for better communication training, DOJ also recommended that San Diego police develop scenario-based training for similar incidents in which multiple officers respond to a call involving a suicidal person with an apparent deadly weapon.