‘I defended myself’: Retired Buffalo Police Officer says he shot teen, fearing for his life

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Bullets flew at 7:30 a.m. last Thursday in the parking lot of the Marine Drive apartments.

A 14-year-old boy, who police believe may have been stealing items from cars, was shot in the leg.

The shooter is retired Buffalo police officer, Antonio Roman, who told 7 News he was acting in his self-defense.

“I defended myself,” he said to 7 News reporter Maki Becker.

At this point, no charges have been filed in the shooting.

But Roman was in court on Wednesday for a red flag hearing.

Hours after the shooting, Buffalo police obtained an Extreme Risk Protection Order from a judge to take away any guns or other weapons in Roman’s possession. Under New York State’s red flag law, weapons can be seized from people considered to be a threat to themselves or others.

Wednesday’s hearing, a civil proceeding, before Erie County Supreme Court Justice Michael A. Siragusa, was a follow-up at which Buffalo police asked that Roman be barred from getting his guns back and obtaining any new firearms for one year. Roman agreed.

A detective in court told the judge that criminal charges had not been filed “yet” against Roman and that the case remains under investigation.

Roman, now 65, spoke to 7 News after the hearing and described what happened in the parking lot. He said he doesn’t have a lawyer and can’t afford one.

Roman retired from the Buffalo Police Department in 2007. He said he is a legal gun owner who has a concealed weapons permit.

Roman has lived in the Marine Drive Apartments, part of Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, for the past decade.

Police records show there have been dozens of car thefts and car break-ins reported at the apartment lot. Car thieves often dump stolen vehicles near a back fence of the lot. “They rifle through stuff there,” Roman said.

On the morning of the shooting, Roman said he was on his way to pick up his son from his mother’s home when he noticed a truck parked by the back fence.

Roman said he veered away from where his own vehicle was parked and went toward the truck, suspecting it was stolen.

He said he could see someone in the driver’s seat and yelled at him.

“He honked two times,” said Roman, believing that was a signal to others that they need to get out of there.

Then, Roman described a crouched figure emerging from behind the back of the truck near the fence and approaching toward the driver’s side door.

The approaching person was wearing a black “ninja” style mask. “He had something black or dark in his hand,” Roman said.

Roman said he couldn’t see the person’s face. “I didn’t know he was a kid,” he said. He would later learn the boy was 14.

Roman yelled out “Stop!” twice and put up his hand, he said, but the teen kept approaching with the object at his side. He said he didn’t know what it was but thought it could be a gun or some other weapon.

Roman fired his gun twice at the teen, he said.

“I wasn’t going to let him shoot me,” Roman said.

Then, Roman said, the truck started driving towards him.

Roman described moving to the side and then firing shots into the driver’s side door.

Police took him to police headquarters where he was questioned after which a detective informed him that a red flag order had been obtained. He was given the choice of voluntarily handing over his weapons or for the police to break down his door. Roman said he handed over “multiple” handguns.

When Roman retired from the Buffalo Police Department, he was under investigation for a 2006 off-duty domestic incident in which he was accused of forcing his then-girlfriend, who was also a Buffalo police officer, to get back into a vehicle at gunpoint, after she had bailed out of it while it was still moving. This is according to police disciplinary records obtained by 7 News.

Roman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was spared jail time, according to a Buffalo News article from the time. He was previously arrested in 1990 for a domestic violence charge involving his ex-wife. That charge was dropped, but a few months later, he was involved in a standoff at his home in Buffalo, the Buffalo News reported. He was initially charged for pointing a shotgun at an officer but that charge was dropped.

Roman today acknowledged those incidents.

“That was 18 years ago,” he said. “It’s ancient history. I owned up to it.”

Roman said he hasn’t been in trouble since and he hopes that investigators conclude that the shooting last week was a case of self-defense and he can go on with his life.

In the meantime, the boy he shot has been released from Oishei Children’s Hospital.