Ex-NYPD cop charged in George Washington Bridge road rage killing free on $1M bail
The retired NYPD narcotics detective accused of gunning down a driver in a horrifying road rage incident on the George Washington Bridge last week is out of jail after posting $1 million bail.
Victor Romero, 62, posted the seven-figure sum on Friday, according to Department of Correction records — three days after he allegedly shot and killed Con Ed worker Koran Irvine in a drive-by shooting on the busy span and fled the scene.
Romero was initially charged with murder, but his charges were downgraded to manslaughter — to the shock of family members and friends of the beloved 46-year-old father of two.
“I think if he was charged with murder, he should have been remanded without bail,” Irvine family attorney Keith White told The Post on Sunday.
“In most serious cases involving suspects that should be charged with murder, people are remanded,” White explained. “But also, I have cases where people aren’t charged with murder, they’re charged with lesser crimes and they are remanded as a flight risk.”
Romero and Irvine — who both lived in Rockland County — had almost collided during a lane change on the ramp to the upper level of the outbound bridge, sources said.
Romero then allegedly tailed Irvine’s sedan before pulling up to the passenger side of Irvine’s vehicle, and firing a single shot through the window — striking the Con Ed worker in the shoulder — and driving off.
He was arrested the next day on murder charges that were quickly downgraded without explanation at his Thursday arraignment, even as prosecutors called the case “particularly senseless.”
Here’s the latest on the George Washington Bridge shooting that left a Con Ed worker dead
Outside Manhattan Criminal Court, about a dozen family members and friends of Irvine said they believed the ex-cop was given preferential treatment by the court system, concerns echoed by White.
“So somebody who chases down and kills somebody in a car, and then flees the scene, doesn’t call 911 isn’t deemed a flight risk?” the lawyer asked rhetorically.
Irvine’s loved ones are not doing well as they grapple with the news of Romero’s release while making funeral plans, sources close to the family said.
The New York City Police Pension Fund public database had withheld information about the value of retirement payments for Romero, who left the job in 2001.
He had been working as a driver for the CEO of the multi-billion-dollar biotech and energy investment firm QVT Financial and was behind the wheel of the company’s Range Rover SUV when he allegedly fatally shot Irvine.
Romero is due back in court on Tuesday, court records show.