A little more than a month after the Arizona Department of Public Safety completed an investigation into the actions of former Williams Police Lt. John Romero during the arrest of a petty theft suspect the case is now in the hands of an outside prosecutor.
That investigation along with a separate investigation by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s office were submitted to the Coconino County Attorney in early May. After reviewing the evidence, the Coconino County Attorney has asked the Mohave County Attorney to take over the case.
The Coconino County Attorney hasn’t commented on the reason for request. Sources with knowledge of the case believe that it may have been done to eliminate any possible appearance of a conflict of interest as Romero worked with the Coconino County Attorneys office on numerous cases while at Williams P.D.
The Mohave County Attorney reportedly received the entire case file this week and will be conducting a review to determine what criminal charges, if any, will be filed against Romero. No public comment by Mohave County has been issued yet.
The case stems from an arrest of a petty theft suspect that was caught on police body camera. The theft suspect, Brian Lopez, was seriously injured when Romero appeared to drag the handcuffed man to the ground causing him to strike his head.
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