NEW YORK (VINnews) — A retired NYPD detective charged with fatally shooting a Con Edison worker during an alleged road rage incident on the George Washington Bridge has posted $1 million bail and been released, court records show.

Victor Romero, 62, of Haverstraw, was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court on a first-degree manslaughter charge. Prosecutors had initially sought a murder charge, but it was reduced. He pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $1 million; he posted it Friday and was freed, according to New York City Department of Correction records.​

The shooting occurred around 7 p.m. Tuesday on the New Jersey-bound upper level of the bridge. Prosecutors said surveillance video captured a near-collision between Romero’s black Range Rover and a dark blue Volkswagen hatchback driven by Koran Irvine, 46, of Valley Cottage, as the vehicles approached the span from the Manhattan side near West 179th Street.

According to Assistant District Attorney Max Sears, Romero then aggressively tailgated Irvine, pulled alongside him while both cars were still moving with traffic, and fired a single shot from the driver’s seat. The bullet entered through the rear passenger-side window of Irvine’s vehicle, striking him in the right shoulder. Irvine’s car stopped abruptly; he was taken to Englewood Hospital in New Jersey, where he was pronounced dead. Romero continued across the bridge and into New Jersey without stopping, prosecutors said.​

Irvine, a married father of two and longtime Con Edison technician who had worked overtime that day, was heading home after his shift. His family had recently moved from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to Rockland County. Con Edison described the shooting as a “senseless act of violence.”

Irvine’s relatives expressed outrage at the reduced charge. Aunt Gale Forde told reporters, “This man was an ex-police officer, so he should know better. And he didn’t. He purposely pointed his weapon, shot into a car, killing my nephew. And his charge was manslaughter, not murder.” She added that if the roles were reversed, “it would be murder.” Family members questioned whether Romero received preferential treatment because of his law enforcement background.​

Romero joined the NYPD in 1994 and retired in 2001 after roughly seven years, having served as a narcotics detective. In 2000, while off duty, he was wounded in a shootout at a family laundromat in Brooklyn after confronting men attempting a robbery; he used his service weapon and shot two of the suspects. At the time of the bridge incident, he was working as a driver and in private security. His attorney, Alan Abramson, has described him as a “hero police officer” with a strong record and noted that he has a wife and four children.​

Investigators recovered a revolver Romero admitted carrying daily, along with additional firearms from his home; testing continues. Romero was arrested the day after the shooting at his workplace in Manhattan. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty; a grand jury has not yet voted on an indictment.

The Port Authority and NYPD continue investigating the incident, which temporarily disrupted traffic on the bridge.