A retired NYPD detective accused of shooting and killing a Con Ed worker during a road rage confrontation on the George Washington Bridge has been charged with first-degree manslaughter, not murder — a decision that has left the victim’s family furious and defense attorneys divided.
Victor Romero, 62, is accused of fatally shooting Koran Irvine, 46, a father of two, Tuesday evening on the Jersey-bound side of the bridge after the two men’s cars nearly collided. Prosecutors say Romero began tailgating Irvine, pulled up alongside his car and fired a gun that struck Irvine in the right shoulder through the back passenger window, killing him. Irvine’s car stopped, causing a traffic backup, then crashed into a median about 40 seconds later, according to a criminal complaint.
Romero fled the scene and did not call 911, prosecutors say. He later attempted to turn himself in but went to the wrong stationhouse before he was eventually arrested.
Why Manslaughter, Not Murder
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office charged Romero with first-degree manslaughter rather than second-degree murder. Defense attorney Michael Bachner, who has no connection to the case, said that choice reflects the difficulty prosecutors would face proving Romero intended to kill Irvine.
“The District Attorney’s office was under the theory that this arose out of an altercation with some lack of premeditation, lack of planning,” Bachner said. “It was a road rage incident where the guy went to get his gun without an intention to kill. There was no proof there was an intention to kill the guy.”
A murder charge would require prosecutors to prove Romero acted with depraved indifference to human life — a tougher legal standard than manslaughter, which requires only proof that Romero intended to cause physical injury that resulted in death.
“It sounds to me, it smells to me, more like he consciously disregarded a risk rather than he acted with a depraved indifference to human life,” Bachner said. “I see why Bragg made this decision. I understand the outrage over it, but I think it really does fit more into the manslaughter mold than it does into the murder charge.”
Not every defense attorney agrees. Veteran New York defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb said he was “surprised” by the charging decision.
“Just relying on what’s alleged in the complaint, there is more than enough to have charged him with murder,” Gottlieb said. “I have seen people charged with murder under less powerful evidence of depraved indifference murder.”
Family Demands Accountability
Irvine’s aunt, Gale Ford, confronted the charge outside court following Romero’s first appearance Thursday.
“You had a retired police officer intentionally fire a bullet and kill him,” Ford said. “Instead of being murder, it’s called manslaughter? But again, in God we will trust.”
Family members sobbed in the courtroom as prosecutor Matt Sears laid out the allegations against Romero, including that he failed to call 911 or turn himself in immediately after the shooting.
“He tailgated him closely and at times aggressively,” Sears said at the hearing. “The defendant’s gunshot entered the back passenger window and struck the victim in his right shoulder, killing him.”
Romero retired from the NYPD 25 years ago and had been working as a driver and private security guard for a Manhattan investment fund, according to police sources. He was ordered held on $1 million bail. His attorney, Alan Abramson, asked for a lower amount, telling the court, “My client was a hero police officer.” Abramson did not return a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
