Judge Denies Mental Health Diversion For Livermore Deputy Accused Of Abusing Son: Report

LIVERMORE, CA — A judge denied a mental health diversion request from a Livermore resident and San Mateo County sheriff’s deputy accused of choking his 5-year-old son, according to a Bay Area News Group report.

Steven Romero, 34, was charged with one felony count of child abuse. Police and prosecutors allege that Romero forced his five-year-old son to jump rope as a punishment for not finishing his breakfast within the allotted 15-minute window. When his son didn’t jump rope quickly enough, Romero allegedly choked him multiple times by the neck and mouth, then dragged him into his room by his ear.

Romero’s lawyer sought a mental health diversion program, which would have paused charges while he underwent court-monitored treatment. If he completed the two-year program without any arrests, the charges would have been dismissed.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Elisa Della-Piana cited a lack of “sufficient clinical evidence” because no clinician reported to the court that Romero would respond positively to treatment while in the program, according to the Bay Area News Group. Romero’s attorney, Rabin Nabizadeh, told the judge he planned to seek a clinician’s note and contest the ruling.

Nabizadeh told the judge that Romero had developed hypervigilance, PTSD, and depression as a result of troubling things he’d seen on the job, but that he was responding well to treatment.

Romero remains free on $100,000 bail, according to county records. Because the diversion plan was rejected, he will continue to be criminally prosecuted.

Romero has been on leave from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office since April 2025. On Sept. 2, the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, temporarily suspended his peace officer certification, according to the Bay Area News Group and Livermore Vine.

Patch reached out to Romero’s attorney and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for more information.

SEE ALSO:

• Livermore Father, Sheriff’s Deputy Accused Of Choking 5-Year-Old Son