The family of a Brooklyn man shot and killed by an NYPD officer during a road rage incident in 2016 joined elected officials and supporters outside of police headquarters on Thursday to call upon Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to file charges against the cop who killed him.
Some 33 New York politicians signed off on a letter addressed to the top cop, urging her to proceed with a trial against Police Officer Wayne Isaacs for the nearly decade-old killing of the unarmed black man, despite Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado’s recommendation to dismiss the charges.
Gathering in the shadow of One Police Plaza, holding images of Tisch and Delrawn Small, who was fatally gunned down by Isaacs, speakers charged that Tisch should prove why Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani asked her to stay on in the role.
“There’s been a lot of talk about her efforts to clean up the NYPD, and this is a very clear test right here. This is a line in the sand, and this is an opportunity to remove someone who clearly cannot do his job and did not do his job and actually murdered someone in front of his family,” Brooklyn Council Member Sandy Nurse said. “If this commissioner wants to move forward in this city where we are talking about a new era of accountability for public safety. Put your words into action. We want to see results.”
Video from the deadly shooting on Atlantic Avenue and Bradford Street in East New York appears to depict Isaacs firing several gunshots out of his window as Small approached his vehicle, killing him in front of his family. After a long legal battle and even criminal charges being brought against him, Isaacs has remained on the job and is currently stationed at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennet Field.
“For almost 10 years, our family has been dealing with New York City Police Officer Wayne Isaacs. He killed Delrawn — excuse me, he murdered Delrawn. This cop killed an unarmed man in front of his baby and his family,” Small’s cousin, Eric Eleam said.
When reached out for comment, an NYPD spokesperson stated that the disciplinary process remains ongoing.
A police source pointed out that Officer Isaacs was indicted, went through a criminal trial but ultimately was acquitted in 2019, adding that is more about whether or not CCRB has jurisdiction over off-duty incidents.
But Small’s family has pushed back against this statement, believing that police are trying to skirt the law by using their position as police officers to protect him against criminal charges while using the fact that he was off-duty as a reason to allow him to continue on the job.
Meanwhile, the officials who signed the letter — including Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and others — told Tisch that they are greatly concerned over the officer’s actions and demanded accountability.
“As elected officials who are committed to building a safer and more just New York, we are deeply alarmed by Officer Isaacs’ self-serving legal distortions and the DCT’s faulty stance on this matter, ” part of the letter reads. “Isaacs and his attorneys cannot both claim he was acting as an NYPD officer to defend him from liability and secure indemnification in federal court, and now claim he was not acting as an officer to evade discipline. Unfortunately, DCT Maldonado was fooled by these antics. We urge you not to be.”
