Do you have any drugs on you? >> The footage shows Lopez was already handcuffed and up against a wall with officer Nicole White. >> Brian, no. >> Do it. >> Romero grabs him from behind and slams him to the ground. >> Oh god. >> In October 2022, an Arizona man was arrested for an alleged shoplifting incident, a stolen can of beer. What happened next would take years to unfold in reports, investigations, and now a grand jury indictment. According to newly released records from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, a Williams police lieutenant, John Romero, told a 911 dispatcher shortly before responding to the call that he wanted to f some s up. Moments later, body camera footage shows the arrestee, 49-year-old Brian Lopez, unconscious and bleeding from a severe head injury after officers restrained him. Romero is now a former officer, no longer with the police department, and he has been indicted on two counts of felony aggravated assault related to the incident. What the DPS records released in 2025 show and what the body camera video alone did not is central to questions about intent, use of force, and accountability. Fin Blue lies, baby. Here's what is documented in the official report. In October of 2022, officers were dispatched to investigate a reported theft. When Lieutenant Romero left the station to respond, he spoke with a 911 dispatcher and said, "I want to f some s up." Shortly after, officers encountered Brian Lopez. Officer Nicole White reported to DPS investigators that Lopez was already handcuffed and compliant, leaning against a wall when Romero arrived. Moments later, Lopez fell to the ground with a severe head injury. Romero later told investigators the fall was an accident. Internal review by the former police chief and outside agencies initially cleared Romero, but under a new police chief in 2025, the department reopened the case, resulting in Romero's termination and a DPS investigation. A grand jury later indicted Romero on aggravated assault charges based on the newly released evidence. I'm ABC15 investigator Jennifer Kovaleeski. Newly released DPS records are revealing troubling new details about a violent arrest in Williams, Arizona. The officer at the center, former police lieutenant John Romero, is now facing felony charges. This all comes after an ABC15 investigation raised serious concerns about what happened that day. This 30-page DPS report confirms what the ABC15 investigators first uncovered. Former Williams police Lieutenant John Romero is accused of violently taking down 49year-old Brian Lopez. >> Brian, stay here with me. >> He was all captured on body camera video in October of 2022. >> Bring it back for me. Good job. >> Thank you, Brian. >> Officers were arresting Lopez for allegedly stealing a can of beer from this local gas station. >> Do you have any drugs on you? >> The footage shows Lopez was already handcuffed and up against a wall with officer Nicole White. >> Brian, no. >> Do it. Romero grabs him from behind and slams him to the ground. >> Oh god. >> Body camera video is powerful. It captures what happened, but it rarely tells why it happened. In this case, the footage shows officers giving verbal commands. It shows physical control. And finally, it shows Lopez on the ground with a severe injury. But the footage alone does not include Romero's pre-inccident statement, the one documented in the DPS report before he even engaged. That statement, the admission of wanting to cause trouble, didn't appear on video because it happened before officers arrived at the scene off camera. This disconnect between footage and reporting is where intent becomes legally and constitutionally significant. Legally, police use of force is measured by reasonleness under the Fourth Amendment. The question isn't just what happened. It's why it happened. An officer's mindset matters. Courts evaluate whether a reasonable officer in the same situation would have believed force was necessary. But what happens when an officer announces before contact that he expects conflict, that he anticipates trouble? That's no longer a reaction. That's an expectation or even a predetermined outcome. This cuts straight to credibility. If an officer enters a situation already inclined toward force, the objectivity required under constitutional standards erodess. >> According to DPS interviews, now former officer White told investigators Lopez was completely compliant and under control. She told ABC15 the same thing in an interview back in 2024. >> Stay with us. We'll explore the legal implications and what this means for police accountability next. >> There was no reason, in my opinion, for him to go to the ground with such force. He was already controlled. >> But the most shocking new detail comes from the 911 dispatcher. According to the DPS report, she told investigators Romero asked her where Lopez was being arrested. And moments before walking out of the police station, Romero said, "I'm going to see if I can go some up." Minutes later, Lopez was on the pavement and unconscious, bleeding from a severe head injury. >> Brian, >> hey buddy, are you awake? >> The report says Romero told investigators it was an accident and Lopez slipped. DPS found no evidence Lopez was resisting arrest and revealed the Page Police Department's outside review only looked at reports and videos, never interviewing key witnesses, including the victim. >> After the incident, the department initially cleared Romero. That early review found no wrongdoing. But years later, after a new chief reopened the case, DPS reviewed it and released the records showing Romero's pre-inccident statements. That led not just to administrative consequences, but to a grand jury indictment on felony charges. Transparency doesn't always equal accountability. A review that clears an officer internally without considering all available evidence can create a shield instead of scrutiny. Only when outside or independent review is triggered here by a grand jury, do consequences catch up with documented behavior. And >> this is right after she arrives on scene. >> We showed Lopez's family the video of his arrest for the first time. They also question Romero's use of force. >> I don't think there was any reason for him to come in and hit him like that. Definitely was not reasonable force there. Lopez's family says he's never been the same, appearing slower and struggling with memory since the injury. Last April, New Williams Police Chief James Gregory fired Romero and asked for the DPS investigation. A grand jury has now indicted Romero on two felony counts of aggravated assault. Romero has pleaded not guilty. Mojave County is prosecuting. Lopez's mom tells me that this indictment feels like vindication and they believe Brian is finally getting some justice. >> Under the Fourth Amendment, force is excessive when it is not reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances known at the time. And here's the crux. Officer White stated Lopez was compliant and controlled when Romero arrived. Romero's own statement wanting to cause trouble suggests predisposition to force. That's a shift from a neutral law enforcement response to behavior that may be closer to predetermined aggression. In constitutional claims, especially in civil rights lawsuits under section 1983, evidence of hostile intent can undermine qualified immunity defenses. Qualified immunity protects officers unless they violate clearly established rights a reasonable officer should know. An officer who enters an encounter already anticipating trouble is far more likely to have crossed that clearly established line. This case, where a recorded statement before an encounter may be the strongest evidence against an officer, shows how much the public relies on documents as much as video. Video captures the moment. Reports can reveal the motive. Understanding both is essential if accountability is more than a buzzword. If we only rely on footage in isolation, we miss what the officers themselves admit on the record. And in this case, the record speaks. Thin blue lies, baby.