As the Civilian Complaint Review Board issues its response to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s preliminary decision to keep an officer who fatally shot Allan Feliz on the force, his family gathered outside NYPD headquarters Friday to demand she reverse course.
The CCRB confirmed it submitted its final recommendation on the issue to Tisch but said that as it is still an ongoing case, “we can’t release the response.”
The NYPD did not respond to queries regarding the CCRB’s recommendation to Tisch or when the Commissioner will issue her final decision.
Flanked by civil rights advocates and elected officials, Feliz’s brother and sister delivered a letter to NYPD headquarters in Lower Manhattan signed by LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the New York Civil Liberties Union and other groups, urging Tisch to adopt the findings of Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado, who found earlier this year that Lieutenant Jonathan Rivera used excessive force and gave misleading testimony during a departmental trial.
On July 3, Tisch indicated in a letter to the CCRB that she believed the shooting was justified and that she intended to reject the recommendation of Maldonado, allowing Rivera to remain on the force.
In the letter, Tisch wrote that her role was to determine whether Rivera’s use of deadly force was legally justified based on his belief that it was necessary to protect another officer from imminent harm. “Respondent discharged his firearm because he believed that doing so was necessary to save the life of his fellow officer,” she stated.
The civil rights groups called Tisch’s preliminary decision “arbitrary and capricious” and “an abuse of discretion.”
Ashley Verdeja, Feliz’s sister, said the family was not surprised by Tisch but called it deeply disheartening and a “slap to the face.”
“They already did the worst thing to us by taking his life,” Verdeja said. “We’re still grieving, we’re still fighting. We’ve had to put our pain aside to just continue to step out here.”
Feliz, 31, was pulled over in the Norwood section of the Bronx on Oct. 17, 2019, for not wearing a seatbelt. Police said he handed over his brother Samy’s license, which triggered outstanding warrants. After exiting the vehicle, he attempted to re-enter it, and officers struggled with him. Rivera, then a sergeant, entered from the passenger side, deployed his taser, and ultimately fired a single round into Feliz’s chest.
The CCRB later substantiated allegations of excessive force. Maldonado ruled that Rivera’s justification that he fired to protect another officer from being run over was not credible, and she recommended termination.
In her rejection of the recommendation, Tisch cited a 2020 report by the New York Attorney General’s Office, which concluded that the shooting could not be proven unjustified beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal court.
Advocates, in their July 11 letter, argue that Tisch inappropriately relied on that report, which used a higher legal standard than the administrative trial’s preponderance-of-evidence standard.
“The Preliminary Decision goes out of its way to make excuses for Lt. Rivera’s inaccurate testimony based on no evidence in the record,” the letter states. “It is entirely improper to substitute your subjective view for credibility findings from a hearing officer without any evidence suggesting the hearing officer was mistaken.”
The letter goes on to criticize the NYPD’s broader disciplinary record, citing a report by the department’s federal monitor, which found that “officers rarely, if ever, receive a penalty for unconstitutional stops/frisks/or searches, even when substantiated by CCRB.” It also points to NYPD data showing a sharp rise in vehicle stops and searches in 2024, with 90 percent of those arrested after stops being Black or Latino.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, speaking at Friday’s rally, said he had once believed Tisch might represent a shift toward accountability within the NYPD. “Unfortunately, today I’m losing that confidence,” Williams said, criticizing the recent attempt of the department to fire 31 probationary officers of color while retaining an officer who shot and killed an unarmed man.
Williams said the case exemplifies why communities of color feel the NYPD is not held accountable when misconduct occurs. “We will not change the behaviors of the force that’s used primarily against Black and Brown New Yorkers… if there are no real consequences,” he said.
While the legal advocates’ letter does not threaten a future lawsuit outright, it lays the foundation for pursuing a potential judicial review if Tisch does not reverse her decision.
At the rally, Feliz’s brother, Samy, said the family is committed to continuing their fight for justice as Rivera “is going to be walking around the streets with his gun and badge and also with the knowledge of how to get away with murder.” He also urged political leaders to remove the police commissioner’s unilateral disciplinary authority, calling the current structure “a damn shame.”
Ashley Verdeja echoed that sentiment, saying the family hopes for new leadership at the NYPD come November’s mayoral election. “I don’t think this commissioner has done or proven anything to change any reform that she alleged she would do,” she said. “
She also spoke about how the loss has affected Feliz’s young son, who was marching alongside them. “There’s not a day that he doesn’t say he misses his dad, and asks if he will ever face the same thing that his dad faced, because he looks just like him,” she said. “How do we answer that to a six-year-old?”
Verdeja said her nephew participates in rallies, learning chants and calling for justice. “He knows that more than probably a school song or nursery rhyme,” she said. “No child should ever have to come here and ask for justice for their parent.”
