Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Miguel Romero

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Miguel Romero, who died on November 19, 2022, after an encounter with members of the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) in Uniondale. Following a thorough investigation, which included review of body-worn camera footage and security footage from a nearby business, interviews with involved officers, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges could not be pursued in this matter. Read more at www.askthelawyer.us. To read the complete analysis in our publication, click here, and on our civil rights blog, click here.

On the evening of November 19, NCPD officers were driving 62 mph in a 40-mph zone in an unmarked vehicle down Front Street in Uniondale while responding to an unrelated arrest. Mr. Romero, who was not at a crosswalk, attempted to cross Front Street and was struck by the unmarked NCPD vehicle. The officer immediately stopped the car to assist Mr. Romero and call for an ambulance. Mr. Romero was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Having comprehensively reviewed the facts and analyzed the law, OSI concludes that the evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer committed the crime of Criminally Negligent Homicide or any other crime. OSI therefore will not present evidence to a grand jury and closes the matter with the publication of this report.

Under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, police officers are permitted to exceed the maximum speed limit and are not required to use sirens and lights when engaged in an emergency situation. In this case, the officer driving the car was responding to an arrest and had reason under the law to be speeding when the collision occurred.

In New York, proving criminally negligent homicide requires proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur; that the failure to perceive the risk was a gross deviation from a reasonable person’s standard of care; and that the person engaged in blameworthy conduct. In this case, though the officer was driving more than 20 mph above the posted speed limit, this does not qualify as “dangerous speeding” under precedent. There was no evidence that the officer was impaired by drugs or alcohol and no evidence that he was otherwise distracted at the time of the crash.

Given the circumstances and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer had engaged in “risk-creating behavior” or “seriously blameworthy carelessness.”

Determining the possibility of alcohol impairment is an essential component of investigating vehicular crashes. In this case, NCPD did not administer a Portable Breath Test (PBT) to the officer who was driving the car until two hours after the incident. While there is no evidence that the officer driving the car was impaired by drugs or alcohol, OSI recommends that the NCPD administer PBTs to officers involved in motor vehicle crashes as close to the time of the collision as practicable to ensure the most accurate results.