LAPD Assists Federal Agency in Drug Investigation of One of Its Own

Los Angeles:  After a nearly two month investigation, a Los Angeles police officer is arrested for selling narcotics.

In April 2010, investigators from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informed the Los Angeles Police Department that a Los Angeles police officer was suspected of off-duty involvement in the sales of narcotics.  At that time, the LAPD launched an internal administrative investigation and cooperated fully with the DEA to support their criminal case.

As a result of the investigation, Police Officer II Yoshio Romero, a five year veteran of the Department, was arrested on June 7, 2025 in Riverside County for a federal arrest warrant charging sales of methamphetamine.  Romero was appointed to the Department in September of 2005 and is currently assigned to Southeast Division patrol.  The investigation is ongoing.  

For more information, contact Public Information Officer Debra Hartman United States Attorney's Office Southern District of California at 619-557-5275.

Comments

[citizen]

Rampart again

[b&wop;]

As a 22-year member of the Department, I am continually angered at the lowering of hiring standards in the LAPD. We should be hiring the BEST CANDIDATE, regardless of race or gender, and maintain higher standards. If that results in classes having only 5 recruits, so be it. Let's go back to a high stress academy so we can weed out the unqualified early on.

[Maria Chacon]

How are these guys hired? If the Dept. only hires college graduates, you'll see a big difference. No drug dealing, no bike kicking, no rudeness, I guarantee. Professionalize the police and the people will be better off.

[A Cynic is not a True Believer]

He had 2 Masters degrees, a 150 IQ, plus he was a grunt in the Marines.

[Wagner]

b&wop,

We all know that if that happens, that 5 recruit academy will be all White, male and straight w/ prior military combat arms experience. I'm just saying.

[BlueMoon]

Good job "Southender" When will these Gunslingers take a step back and realize the amount of damgage their doing to the rest of this dept.

[Jaime A]

I did not know that a college degree, bravery and sound morals were the same thing. Sounds a bit self-righteous. Sorry to all of you brave yet poorly educated military folks, according to some poeople out there you are under qualified to have this job.

[Dan]

Southen cop? Gunslinger? i dont think any of that has to do with the decisions this idiot made. Thank God for this dirt bags arrest, and thank God he will be outta the ranks. As for southend cops, they are the men and women who are really handling police work, and working the divisions other cops are too scared to work.

[Itsnotme]

No one believes he has a 150 IQ or 2 legit masters degrees. Also, what the heck does him working in the southend have to do with anything. The damage to this department is done by 2 groups of people; criminals that get hired and management that caters to so-called "activists" in the community. One group can't help but be evil. The other group can't show a backbone.

[Silly Willie]

B&wop hit the nail on the head. The LAPD Academy was once a disciplined, structured and yes, high stress. That allowed the cream of the crop to rise to the top and the misfits to wash out! Unfortunately the same thing has happened to the entire department and command staff. People are promoted based on who they know, the color of their skin or their ethnic background. Work history and life-experience means little in today's LAPD. We can all thank Bill Bratton and his eastcoast philosophy for this!

[the Brightest Cop in the Force]

The susp was the top cop in his Academy class. He was Marine Special Ops. He was up and coming. Highly educated, having attended VMI, with a Masters in both Business and Int'l Affairs from Harvard.

[John Porras]

Dan, I work Hollenbeck Division because I grew up here, not because I'm "afraid" to work the southend, as you suggest. What an ignorant and arrogant point you try to make. Since when does the southend have more dangerous criminals than Hollenbeck? You may be watching way too many rap videos, etc and believe the southend hype; but I don't... If you have personnally been involved in a shootout with a meth-freak -armed with an AK47 then you can talk courage, etc to me. By the way, a college education has never been a gauge for an ethical and moral employee. Let's not dilute the fact that a few bad-apples are going to snake their way into the Department, college educated or not...

[TOP Dawg]

Yeah, Dan. You ever working the TOP? Don't knock til you've tried it, brotha.

[Reserve Deputy]

I know a lot of "Southend" LAPD cops from 77th as well as a couple from Hollenbeck and they are brave, professional cops. Don't disparage other divisions because one division happened to inherit a scum bag. This guy may have slipped through the system but he was never a cop, he was a common criminal and he'll be treated as one from here on out...

[FTO]

Dan, what a completely disrespectful thing to say about the officers in the other parts of the city. You are obviously very misinformed. I work in the Valley and guess what; a large part of the really heinous crimes in LA have occurred out here. Also, the gang members from "the south end" are coming up to the valley to do their crimes. Some of us work where we work because of commutes, where we grew up, etc. If you work the south end because you think you're braver then the rest of us, then you have some real self esteem issues.

[Citizen]

I dont think anyone can really measure someone's moral content with any of the measures in the hiring process. The "BEST CANDIDATE" is simply someone who wants to genuinely help the community. Military experience, college education, race, or even where someone is from, I don't think any of these things measure a man's integrity or his heart. These two things are what I would think any department would want as the base of their officers' character. Integrity should not just be a word that you recite in a credo it should be the code by which someone lives by. This man is just one blemish on your department but as a a citizen it doesn't change my mind about the positive things and the sacrifice your officers make everyday.

[Proud "Gunslinger"! Hollaaaaaaa]

OMG, what's with all the haters on the southend coppers? I think Ray Perez worked Rampart right? Hollywood Burglars? Hmmm, Hollywood.....Relax people, no need to puff out your chests and brag about your AK47 take downs. When you run across an 80-yr-old basehead with a dangerous broken crack pipe and 3 lighters, then you can talk about real police work. Stop with the machismo!

[Harbor Copper]

Man, you guys got nothing on Harbor, it's more south than the "Southend". Valley, Central, and you wanna be "Southenders", need to work Harbor before you talk like Jack Bauer from 24.

[Ed O'Shea]

Citizen........ Amen! Couldn't have said it better.

[LAPD5]

Look guys and girls,

I work city wide and get to meet Officers from surrounding agencys. They all have the same thing to say about LAPD, and based on what i have read they are right. We cant even get along with ourselves!!! You guys wanna have a pissing contest over which division is the toughest?? you gotta be kidding me, this is a prime example on why I'm ashamed to say I'm LAPD. We need to support and stand tall with each other. This is what command staff wants, this is what the public wants, they want us to be divided. They dont want us to have any unity or brother/sister hood. Officer's have died for this Department not for their DIViSION! When I need help I dont care where or what division the responding officers work. Start acting like professionals and stop acting like the gang member's and criminals we arrest every day.

[Ofcr. Smiley is Edumacated Good]

the CHP ofcr in Redlands died for a seatbelt ticket, the Seattle ofcr punch a teenage girl for a jaywalking ticket, Hollywood ofcrs kicked moving bikes for a no light at night ticket, etc etc I'm sure had these ofcrs been college educated they would have been able to discern risk/rewards, step back analyze the situation and come up with a solution to their actions, instead of 'me disrespected, me take action now".

[John Porras]

Gunslinger,
My message was directed to all the "super-cops" who believe that working one specific division makes them superior to any other brother or sister officer. I don't hate on anyone, except for the arrogant and ignorant few (check your egos at the door). Those of us who choose to work the street, no matter where, are to be commended by all, not denigrated by some. By the way, "Gunslinger", your pseudonym sounds fairly "macho", but you utilize "OMG" as an abbreviation. That's quite a obvious contrast in character.

[John Porras]

Hey, "Gunslinger", your pseudonym sounds kinda macho, but you use "OMG" as an abbreviation. That's quite a contrast in character, don't you think? Here's some food-for-thought, no one (not even you) has the right to disparage a brother/sister officer because of where they choose to work. Arrogance, ignorance, and ego(gunslinger???)are no substitutes for true character and substance. By the way, "gunslinger" , I was not chest-slapping, as you suggest. I was making a legitimate point that you obviously cannot relate to or cannot comprehend.

[Ana/Christ]

LOL! Even cops are rude to each other. No wonder.

[B&WOp;]

Why is it that LAPD officers choose the LAPD Blog to snipe at each other in public? How about setting up a meeting in a station parking garage and have it out man to man, without the anonimity of the Internet. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding in words that a face to face conversation might clear up.

LAPD officers, take your personal disagreements about each other out of the public arena. It takes character to NOT press the send button, which should be done most of the time.