DENVER – A former Denver Sheriff’s Deputy sergeant charged last year with assaulting an inmate was acquitted Friday by a Denver jury following a three-day trial.
The former DSD sergeant and jail guard, Randolph Romero, had been charged with misdemeanor assault after he allegedly slammed an inmate to the ground “without evident cause” while inside an elevator at the downtown detention center, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said at the time.
The alleged incident happened March 18, 2017. Romero was charged last August.
The inmate was handcuffed and wearing a spit hood at the time and suffered a wrist injury. McCann said two other deputies who were inside the elevator with Romero and the inmate at the time were not involved. A mug shot for Romero is not available because he was not booked.
Ken Lane, a spokesman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, said the jury returned the not-guilty verdict late Friday afternoon after a three-day trial.
In a statement sent to Denver7 Friday afternoon, Danny Foster, the attorney representing Romero, said he was happy for his client who "has been dealing with this dark cloud over his life for the past 18 months." The statement further reads:
This was a political prosecution by Beth McAnn who promised voters that she’d prosecute law enforcement. The time and waste of taxpayer dollars for her political gain was egregious. This was a case of justifiable force that should never have been filed. I hope she stops using her office to score political points by wrongfully prosecuting good law enforcement officers.
