Former Commanding Officer of the 71st Precinct Thrown Farewell Party As He Heads To Retirement

by CrownHeights.info

Former 71st Precinct commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Ludwig “Tito” Romero was thrown a farewell party by the officers of the 71st Precinct and NYPD Brass as he signed out of the 71st Precinct for the final time.

A twenty two year veteran of the NYPD, Romero was actually born on Washington Ave in Crown Heights’s 71st NYPD Precinct, and later returned to the Precinct as a young police officer.

After many years of securing the streets of the 71st Precinct, Romero was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and transferred to another area of New York City. But the move was only temporary as he returned some time later to the Precinct as a captain.

After leaving the Precinct again due to a promotion in 2017, Romero made his final return as the Commanding Officer of the 71st Precinct around January of 2020.

An outgoing and well liked commanding officer, he sat down for an interview with CrownHeights.info soon after taking his command, saying that coming back to the 71st “really does feel like home.”

Just five months after taking the helm of the 71st, Romero was forced on leave due to an injury sustained during the street riots of 2020. As the injury kept him out for the months to follow, a new temporary Commanding Officer of the 71st was announced. As the time dragged on and Romero faced multiple surgeries for his injuries, he put in his paperwork for retirement.

“I always thought like this wasn’t the ending I wanted,” Romero said during his retirement speech. “But at the end of the day, I think this is how it was supposed to go down.”

Thanking the officers and assembled Brass, Romero reaffirmed his pride at having served in Crown Heights’s 71st Precinct, and made the customary last sign out before taking leave of the Precinct in a vintage NYPD cruiser.