The National Police is looking for a replacement for the head of the Lérida Provincial Police Station, Antonio José Royo Subías. This command was appointed last December, but he only lasted six days in his position. The Ministry of the Interior dismissed him when it became known in the media that he was convicted in June 2003 for harassing a subordinate into having sexual relations with him in exchange for promotion in the Corps. He also gave her “a slap on the buttock” according to the sentence. The events occurred in 1999, but the head of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, claimed to be unaware of the events at the time of his appointment.
Royo lasted less than a week in office, but after his departure he appealed the Interior decision and at the end of the year the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) agreed with him, and forced the Police to reinstate him in his position provisionally until someone could be found to relieve him. The order analyzed the way in which he was dismissed, since the motivation was insufficient.
As LA RAZÓN has learned, the Police opened the call to replace him on January 13. The court’s resolution gave him one month to do so, but the institution did not take less than 20 days. However, since then the process has continued open. Police sources familiar with the internal procedure point out that, as it is a freely appointed position, the candidates had 15 days to present their candidacies. Now, the answer to elect a new chief commissioner of Lérida is “indeterminate.” “They can name it whenever they want,” they explain. Therefore, Royo Subías is still in his position, still waiting to be replaced.
The situation of this command is of particular relevance now, since its appointment was the decision of the former deputy operational director (DAO), José Ángel González, who resigned on the 17th accused of also allegedly raping a subordinate in April 2025. Since then, the Police are experiencing one of their most “sad” and “complicated” moments in recent years. Last Monday the process to elect a new top operational command was opened, a process that will end next week. Internal sources indicate that the decision will not be postponed and that the name will be known on March 5.
According to the Provincial Court of Gipuzkoa and later the Supreme Court, they considered it proven that Royo, then chief inspector of a group of the Police Intervention Unit (UIP) in San Sebastián, exerted pressure on a recently recruited agent to have sexual relations with him. According to the ruling, the command even told him that his professional career – including promotions, better services and permits – depended on him agreeing to their demands. There is also evidence of denigrating comments about the victim and, during a meal with colleagues, he “swatted” her on the buttocks.
The aggression and coercion, supported by testimonies and valued by the courts, caused Royo to be sentenced in 2003 to a fine of 1,080 euros and to compensate the victim with another 3,000. The penalty did not include professional disqualification, since at that time the Penal Code did not contemplate an accessory penalty for this type of crime. This allowed Royo, despite the conviction, to continue his career in the National Police and rise to become a commissioner in 2017, according to what El País reported at the time.
After being dismissed, Royo appealed that decision, alleging that it could cause him “serious harm that would be very difficult to repair.” And the magistrates agreed with him. The Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the TSJC considered that the cessation order could present “multiple legal defects and voidability.” They criticize, among other issues, that the resolution did not listen to the high command itself and that it was based solely on the argument that its permanence could cause a “serious deterioration in the image of the National Police”, without detailing functional or specific reasons that justify the dismissal. The court considers that the fact that the 2003 ruling was known was not a sufficient reason to remove him as head of the Lérida police station, where he is still in charge.