The family of an unharmed Brooklyn man shot and killed by police during a road rage incident in 2016 fumed on Monday after the NYPD moved to dismiss charges against the cop responsible.
Victoria Davis and Victor Dempsey say they have been fighting for justice for their brother, Delrawn Small, for almost a decade. Small was fatally shot on July 4, 2016, in front of his four-month-old son, step-daughter, and girlfriend.
Family members say video footage of the incident, taken near the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Bradford Street in East New York on the night in question, shows an off-duty cop acting unhinged in a road rage incident and firing a gunshot out of his window, which killed Small.
The cop, identified as Police Officer Wayne Isaacs, is accused of cutting off Small. When Small approached Isaacs, the officer opened fire within seconds and struck him three times.
This moment of bloodshed started a long battle for the Small family as they demanded accountability for the slaying. However, on November 10, Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado recommended that charges against Isaacs be dismissed, canceling a trial that was scheduled to proceed.
A joint statement from Davis and Dempsey charged that Isaacs was being let off on “a bogus, manufactured excuse” regarding jurisdiction of the case.
“For over nine years, every part of this system has worked overtime to protect Officer Isaacs at our family’s expense,” part of a joint statement from Davis and Dempsey read. “It’s just the latest example of how the NYPD, the police unions, the courts, and city agencies bend over backwards to deny every shred of accountability. At first, they claimed Isaacs was acting as a cop so the City would use taxpayer dollars to settle our civil suit – and even though they dragged their feet for a year, the NYPD served the Civilian Complaint Review Board’s (CCRB) charges to Isaacs four years ago. Now, they’re arguing Isaacs was off-duty and acting as a civilian to block his disciplinary trial – just weeks ahead of when it should finally start.”
Isaacs was prosecuted for murder by the NYS Attorney General’s office, but acquitted by a jury. The case has since been contested through a series of lawsuits and appeals filed by his attorneys. In September 2025, Isaacs’ internal NYPD discipline trial was scheduled to take place on Nov. 19 of this year.
In response, his attorneys requested the Police Commissioner to block the CCRB’s prosecution of Isaacs and to delay the disciplinary trial – a request that Jessica Tisch ultimately denied.
Now both Davis and Dempsey are calling on Commissioner Tisch to step in and fire Isaacs, who is currently employed in the office of the Chief of Special Operations Division.
“Commissioner Tisch saw through Isaacs’ and his police union’s tired tactic of trying to get her to retain the case: she already rejected that request last month. Tisch’s Deputy Commissioner fell for Isaacs’ attorneys’ legal antics – but Tisch must not,” Davis and Dempsey said. “She can continue the NYPD’s corrupt culture of impunity, or she can finally do what should’ve happened in 2016: fire Wayne Isaacs. No more delays. No more legal games. No more protection for killer cops.
When reached for comment, an NYPD spokesperson stated: “The disciplinary process is ongoing.”
The Police Benevolent Association, the union representing the rank and file cops, stated that Isaacs was acquitted by a Brooklyn jury and states that the CCRB was performing an “overreach” in an off-duty affair.
“We are glad that the trial commissioner has struck down yet another attempt by CCRB to bend the law and increase its own power. CCRB’s constant overreach into matters beyond its jurisdiction isn’t an accident — it is part of a coordinated campaign to take full control of the NYPD,” PBA president Patrick Hendry said.
Executive Director of the Justice Committee, Loyda Colón, says they view things differently, believing that the PBA and their lawyers are attempting to grant Isaacs the authority of a police officer without the responsibility of acting in a duty capacity.
“When it benefited Isaacs, his lawyers argued he was acting as a cop to excuse his violence. The State Attorney General’s office prosecuted Isaacs for murder under executive order 147 – indicating that the AG determined he was acting as a police officer as well,” Colón said. “A federal court ruled that the City had to indemnify Isaacs because he was acting under the color of the law. Now, only two weeks before Isaacs’ long-overdue disciplinary trial, Isaacs’ lawyers are making the exact opposite claim to stop the discipline process from moving forward.”
