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RRPD removed from wrongful death suit
This screenshot from RRPD Officer Anthony Benavidez’s body-worn camera shows John Paul Romero, 42, running toward Benavidez with a raised machete on the evening of Jan. 26. Benavidez and RRPD Officer Justin Gurule fired their service weapons at Romero, who was killed.
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RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho Police Department has been removed as defendant in a wrongful death suit filed last year.
Celina Roybal, representative of the wrongful death estate of John Paul Romero, filed a law suit against the city of Rio Rancho and the Rio Rancho Police Department in December for wrongful death, negligence and civil rights violations.
RRPD was dropped as a defendant with prejudice June 26, according to court records.
Romero was shot and killed by police Jan. 26, 2022, during a domestic violence incident, according to previous Observer stories. Body cam footage was shared in a previous story written by the Rio Rancho Observer and may be disturbing for some.
Information from the 911 call indicated that a man was acting violently toward his family members and was armed with two knives described as machetes. He had knocked down a door when officers arrived and appeared to lunge at the officers with a machete in the body cam footage.{/div}
Officers attempted less lethal means, including a stun gun, to stop him from his continued threat, as seen in the video. The officers also shot the man, which stopped his action. Romero was pronounced dead at the scene.
A motion in the suit, filed in May by the defense, argues that including RRPD in the lawsuit is unnecessary due to it being a subdivision of the city of Rio Rancho. It states that, legally, RRPD is not a cognizable party in the case.
The case remains open for the city, however.
RRPD and city of Rio Rancho have not responded to request for comment.
