Miguel Romero was killed after being struck by an unmarked police car in 2022. Today, New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office released its report concluding that criminal charges should not be pursued against the officer who did it.
Romero, 47, was crossing Front Street in Uniondale in Nov. 2022 when he was hit by a police car on its way to assist other officers with an arrest. The car, driven by officer Michael Gironda and passenger Nicholas Stephani, was going 62 mph in a 40 mph zone.
There was no evidence that Gironda was impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time, or was distracted by his cell phone, the report states. The Nassau County Police Department did not administer a breathalyzer test until two hours after the collision. Romero had reportedly seen the police car before attempting to sprint across the road.
After the collision, Gironda stopped the car and both officers went to Romero and called an ambulance. Paramedics brought Romero to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead soon after arrival. He died of blunt force injuries, an autopsy concluded.
The Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation, or OSI, asserted that a proscecuter would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that Gironda commited a crime, and therefore criminal charges should not be pursued.
Their investigation, which was opened soon after the accident, included review of police body-cam footage and security footage from a nearby business, interviews with involved officers, and a legal analysis to see whether criminal charges could be leveled against Gironda.
The evidence, the report states, is insufficient to prove Gironda commited Criminally Negligent Homicide or any other crime. Therefore, OSI will not present evidence to a grand jury, and have closed the investigation.
Under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, police officers are allowed to exceed the speed limit and are not required to use sirens and lights when engaged in an emergency situation.
Because Gironda was responding to an arrest at the time, he has sufficient reason under the law to have been speeding, the report states.
Though Gironda was driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit, there is precedent in court that it does not constitute “dangerous speeding,” according to the report.
Proving criminally negligent homicide in New York court 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.”
Because Gironda was not engaging in “dangerous speeding,” nor was he distracted by his cell phone or impared by drugs or alcohol, a prosecutor would not be able to prove in trial that he had engaged in “risk-creating behavior” or “seriously blameworthy carelessness,” the report said.
Determining the possibility of alcohol impairment is an essential component of investigating vehicular crashes. In this case, the Nassau County Police Department did not administer a breathalyzer test to Gironda until two hours after the accident.
While there is no evidence that the officer driving the car was impaired by drugs or alcohol, the report states, OSI recommends that the NCPD administer breathalyzer tests to officers involved in motor vehicle crashes as close to the time of the collision as practicable to ensure the most accurate results.
