WILLIAMS, AZ — Newly released Arizona Department of Public Safety records reveal disturbing details about what led to a former Williams Police lieutenant's violent takedown of a handcuffed man in October 2022.
According to the 30-page report, Lt. John Romero told a 911 dispatcher he wanted to "f*** some s*** up" moments before leaving the police station to join the arrest of 49-year-old Brian Lopez. Minutes after making the comment, Lopez was unconscious on the pavement, bleeding from a severe head injury, the report found.
Lopez was being arrested for allegedly stealing a can of beer from a local gas station, according to police records.
A grand jury recently indicted John Romero on two counts of felony aggravated assault for his involvement in Lopez’s arrest and based on the new findings in the DPS report.
Court records show Romero pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The DPS report confirms what the ABC15 Investigators first reported in June 2024.
Body camera video from the arrest shows Lopez was already handcuffed and positioned against a wall with Officer Nicole White when Romero grabbed him from behind and slammed him to the ground.
White told DPS investigators that Lopez was "completely compliant" and under control when Romero intervened.
"There was no reason, in my opinion, for him to go to the ground with such force. He was already controlled," White said in a previous interview with ABC15.
White, who is no longer with the department, also described to ABC15 her reaction to seeing Lopez unconscious: "I thought he had been killed at that moment.”
The DPS report states that Romero told investigators the incident was an accident and that Lopez slipped. However, DPS found no evidence that Lopez was resisting arrest.
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According to the DPS report, a previous outside review of the incident by the Page Police Department only examined reports and videos without interviewing key witnesses, including the victim.
Lopez's stepdad, Kelly Brockett, also questioned Romero's use of force after seeing the body camera footage for the first time in a previous interview with ABC15.
"I don't think there was any reason for him to come in and hit him like that," Brockett said. "Definitely was not reasonable force there."
Lopez's family says he has never been the same since the incident, appearing "slower" and struggling with memory issues since the injury, according to the report.
Previous reviews of Romero’s actions by the former Williams police chief and the Page Police Department cleared him of any wrongdoing.
But everything changed after the city hired a new police chief in January 2025.
Newly hired Williams Police Chief James Gregory said he fired Romero in April because of his involvement in Lopez’s arrest and asked the Arizona Department of Public Safety to launch a new investigation into Romero’s actions.
City Manager Tim Petit said the investigation was launched at the city’s request after the new police chief inadvertently discovered additional information.
Williams Police Chief Gregory told ABC15 his agency had no comment on the charges Romero is now facing or new findings from the DPS report.
