A London police officer who is already facing several assault charges related to breaching release conditions and more has been charged again.
Const. Juan Romero-Hernandez, who’s been in the force for 20 years, was arrested shortly after 1 p.m., on Tuesday, according to a police news release.
He was charged with criminal harassment by repeated communication and failure to comply with a release order. Police say those charges are related to an investigation into communication with a victim over email and phone.
The new charges come in addition to charges from Dec. 12, 2023, which included two counts of assault, and one count each of assault with a weapon, resisting arrest and obstructing police. Court documents identified two victims in the incident and a blunt object used as a weapon.
Later, on Dec. 23, 2023, Romero-Hernandez was charged with failing to comply with an undertaking after returning to a prohibited location in his release conditions.
Initially, the London Police Service waited more than one month to report publicly that Romero-Hernandez, who is now 47 years old, was charged. LPS never responded to CBC’s request for comment on the length of time it took them to report the incident.
Usually, assault cases are reported by the LPS within days of charges being laid.
The accused is still suspended with pay.
According to police, Romero-Hernandez has been remanded in custody and is expected to reappear in court tomorrow in relation to the new charges.
Police say because the matter is before the court, they will not provide additional information regarding the case.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-police-charged-officer-juan-romero-hernandez-1.7197139
