A retired New York City police detective who was once praised for risking his life to stop an armed robbery now faces a manslaughter charge after authorities accused him of fatally shooting a Black father of two in an apparent road rage incident on the George Washington Bridge.
Police arrested Victor Romero, 62, on Wednesday in connection with the shooting death of Koran Irvine, 46, a Con Edison worker who was driving home after working overtime on Tuesday evening when Romero allegedly killed him.
Investigators said the shooting occurred around 7:15 p.m. on the bridge’s upper level heading toward New Jersey.
At his Thursday arraignment, Romero faced a reduced first-degree manslaughter charge rather than the murder charge initially brought against him. A judge set his bond at $1 million dollars.
Irvine’s sisters, aunts, and cousins attended the hearing, while his wife and children were absent. According to The New York Post, the family sobbed as a prosecutor revealed that Romero allegedly failed to call 911 after the shooting.
“He fled the scene and left my brother to die!” Irvine’s sister, Sylvia Irvine, said after the hearing.
Attorneys Say Mississippi Cop Aimed Gun at Side of Car Where Baby Sat with Mom Before Fatal Shot
Florida Cop Took Dead Man’s Home, Then Demanded Money When Family Came Collecting, Police Say
The family publicly stated that it seemed Romero was receiving preferential treatment because of his former career in law enforcement.
Romero allegedly admitted to being the shooter to investigators and handed the gun to police, sources told The Post. Investigators believe they recovered a bullet fragment from a black Range Rover. The fragment is undergoing analysis, according to ABC 7.
Investigators reviewing video footage believe Romero pulled alongside Irvine’s vehicle near the rear passenger side shortly before the shooting. Irvine’s car suddenly shifted, then veered into the median and stopped. The other vehicle drove away.
Authorities preliminarily believe the bullet passed through the rear passenger-side window and grazed the driver’s seat headrest before striking Irvine in the right shoulder and exiting through the left side of his neck. Emergency responders transported him to Englewood Hospital in New Jersey, where doctors pronounced him dead.
The shooting prompted the closure of the bridge’s upper level for several hours. Authorities reported no other injuries.
Irvine lived in Valley Cottage in Rockland County, New York, and left behind a wife, a son, and a daughter. Relatives described him as a devoted husband and father whose life revolved around the people he loved.
“He was a family man. Has always been a family man, and he lived his life 100 percent for his family and stayed out of trouble. And I am in disbelief at this point,” a cousin told the Post.
Irvine had recently celebrated 20 years of working for Con Edison and regularly picked up overtime shifts to support his family, according to relatives.
“A plant in Con Ed is crippled right now because my brother was the backbone of that project. They were working on their second transformer, said Sylvia Irvine.
The company issued a statement mourning Irvine’s death.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of a member of the Con Edison family in this senseless act of violence,” the company said. “Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, colleagues, and everyone who knew and loved him.”
Another family member, who asked to remain anonymous, said Irvine and his wife openly showed their love for each other.
Sylvia Irvine says the loss of her brother is especially hard due to the passing of their father, who also died young.
“My dad died at 60, and now my brother’s dead at 47. The last man to carry his last name is his 11-year-old son,” she said.
Before his arrest, Romero had survived a violent encounter as an NYPD detective. According to police sources cited by the Post, Romero retired in 2001, about a year after gunmen attempting to rob his family’s laundromat in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, wounded him in an off-duty shootout in June 2000.
During the robbery, one of the armed suspects allegedly threatened those inside, shouting, “Give us all the money or we’ll blow your heads off!”
Romero reportedly agreed to cooperate and pleaded with the robbers not to hurt anyone. But when one suspect pressed a gun against a customer’s cheek, he opened fire with his service weapon. The confrontation left Romero and two suspects wounded.
An officer at the scene praised Romero’s actions at the time, saying, “He’s lucky to be alive. That bullet could have easily ripped through his heart.”
The officer added, “He’s a true hero — he prevented a potential bloodbath.”
More than two decades later, Romero faces a manslaughter charge in a separate shooting.
“They want to talk about what he did, what he has done. He is a retired, early retirement, at that, police officer,” Sylvia Irvine said. “You were not even an ounce of what my brother is and what he is going to be. He is a living legend.”
At Thursday’s arraignment, an attorney representing Irvine’s family challenged the decision to let Romero carry a firearm, citing the off-duty shooting that prompted him to retire from the NYPD.
The case will return to court next Monday, when prosecutors may present it to a grand jury.
