San Mateo County sheriff’s deputy denied mental health diversion in child abuse case

A judge struck down a San Mateo County sheriff’s deputy’s bid Tuesday to enter a mental health diversion program amid allegations he choked his son and dragged the boy by his ear for taking too long to eat breakfast.

The ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Elisa Della-Piana means the deputy, Steven Romero, will continue to be criminally prosecuted on a single felony charge of corporal injury to a child.

Had Romero been accepted, his case would have been paused while he underwent court-monitored treatment. The charges would then have been dismissed if he successfully completed the two-year program without any further arrests.

In issuing her ruling, Della-Piana said at least some of the deputy’s mental conditions — court records show he had been under the care of a doctor since June 8 for alcohol and marijuana abuse, as well as depression and post-traumatic stress — were fits for the program.

Yet no clinician had reported to the court that Romero would respond positively to treatment while in the program, leaving unfilled a key requirement for admission.

“I simply don’t have sufficient clinical evidence here,” Della-Piana said.

Romero’s attorney immediately told the judge he planned to seek such a clinician’s note and contest the ruling. In an interview with this news outlet afterward, the attorney said he was “disappointed” in the judge’s decision.

“She succumbed to pressure because he’s a cop,” said the attorney, Rabin Nabizadeh. He added that additional stress the deputy suffered from press coverage of the case “is the only news here.”

Romero appeared in court via a video feed Tuesday. Nabizadeh attributed the deputy’s remote attendance on being “frankly terrified” to show up amid media coverage of the case.

The case stems from a March 8 incident at Romero’s Livermore home, where authorities say the deputy became enraged when his son did not eat his breakfast in an allotted 15-minute period. Investigators claim Romero punished the boy by forcing him to jump rope and — when Romero felt the child wasn’t doing that fast enough — “choked him multiple times by his mouth and neck and then dragged (him) into his room by his ear,” court records show.

The boy was later taken to a hospital, where a doctor concluded the child’s bruises were consistent with physical abuse, according to the records.

Nabizadeh told the judge in court Tuesday that Romero had been troubled by the various sights he encountered in his job — such as recovering bodies from train tracks and responding to suicide scenes — and that he “paid the cost for it in terms of his mental health.” Still, Nabizadeh said the deputy’s condition was improving, and that “it is very clear his hypervigilance, his PTSD and depression are responding to treatment.”

“He is really trying to get ahead of this,” Nabizadeh said. The attorney added that “In my opinion, he’s not ready to be a father,” but argued that concerns about whether he should have custody of his child were for a family court judge to decide a separate hearing.

Yet Priscilla Vuong, the prosecutor on the case, countered that Romero had a history of alleged abuse against at least one romantic partner, his child and his father. And she voiced concerns about Romero using excessive force on community members if he returned to his job as a deputy.

“I don’t think, at this point, the treatment plan is sufficient enough,” said Vuong, adding that “quite frankly, I do fear for the safety” of his child.

Romero remains free on $100,000 bail. He has been on leave since April 2025, though the sheriff’s office has refused to provide details about the initial reason Romero was placed on leave.

According to the State of California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training Peace Officer Certification Actions, Romero’s law enforcement certification also has been on temporary suspension since Sept. 2 for acts that violate the law.

Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at [email protected].