Plainclothes police officers investigating a string of robberies in Sunset Park fatally shot a man around 2:30 p.m. yesterday by Greenwood Cemetery. The detectives spotted Michael Romero, 32, loitering on a quiet stretch of 5th Avenue and, believing he matched the description of a robbery suspect, pulled up to him in their unmarked car. After beckoning Romero over to the vehicle and asking to see his ID, he said, "You want to see my ID? Here's my ID," and produced a loaded .357-caliber revolver, presenting it to Officer Sean Kelleher, who was behind the wheel.
Officer Kelleher was able to jam his finger in the hammer to prevent Romero from firing, and during their struggle for the gun, Officer Tara Hayes jumped out and ran around the front of the car reportedly firing one round that went through Romero's shoulder to his chest. "She saved her partner's life, and possibly her own and that of a third officer with her unflinching, swift response," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday.
One unidentified witness provided a somewhat contradictory and incoherent account to NY1: "It looked like a routine stop to me so I was just walking by and I see an officer struggling with the assailant at the moment. And as soon as that happened they told me stop what you're doing and they went to the back of his pants. And is [sic] soon as he did that the officer fired two shots."
Romero was pronounced dead on arrival at Lutheran Hospital. In his backpack, police found a loaded .44 revolver, a gallon-size bag of marijuana, and two wallets that belonged to other people, stuffed with cash. Police sources say he has 10 prior arrests, including seven felonies, on his record. "I'd seen that guy buying cigarettes at the gas station and walking around the block," one local resident told the Daily News. "He was looking shady." And one of Romero's former neighbors in Bay Ridge told the Post, "He was a troublemaker and a thug. I stayed away from him. I have my family here, and we were very afraid of him."
