On Thursday, November 13th at 10:30am, the family of Delrawn Small, elected officials, community organizations, and supporters rallied outside One Police Plaza to demand NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch uphold charges against Officer Wayne Isaacs and allow his long-delayed discipline trial to move forward. Isaacs shot and killed Mr. Small and left him to bleed out in the street in front of his four-month-old baby and teenage stepdaughter nearly a decade ago – yet he is still on the force. Thirty-three New York City and State elected officials sent a letter to Commissioner Tisch, urging her to reject Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado’s shocking recommendation to dismiss charges. Tisch, who faces mounting criticism for her record on police accountability, could decide as early as November 14 whether to uphold charges or once again shield an officer who killed an unarmed Black man from any discipline.
When: November 13, 2025, at 10:30am
Where: 1 Police Plaza
Who*:
Victoria Davis, sister of Delrawn Small
Eric Eleam, cousin of Delrawn Small
Samy Feliz, brother of Allan Feliz, killed by NYPD Lt. Rivera in 2019
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
Councilmember Sandy Nurse
Justice Committee
BACKGROUND:
On July 4, 2016 Officer Wayne Isaacs shot and killed Delrawn Small in front of his four-month-old son, step-daughter and girlfriend. Isaacs had been driving erratically down Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn and had cut Mr. Small’s car off several times. When Mr. Small approached Isaacs’ car, Isaacs - who was off-duty at the time - fired his weapon out of the window, shot Mr. Small three times, and left him to bleed out in the street without offering any aid, all in plain view of Mr. Small’s family. Mr. Small was 37-years-old and unarmed.
Officer Isaacs was charged and prosecuted for murder by the NYS Attorney General’s office in the first case the office prosecuted after Governor Cuomo's 2015 executive order authorizing the AG to investigate police killings. The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) substantiated fireable misconduct charges against Officer Isaacs in October 2020, but the NYPD delayed serving the charges for almost a year. In October 2021, after Isaacs refused to give the CCRB access, the CCRB was forced to file a motion to unseal Isaacs’ murder trial records. In February 2022, the New York State Supreme Court Judge Verna L. Saunders dismissed NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs’ Article 78 lawsuit, filed in March 2021, the police union’s baseless attempt to block his long-delayed discipline trial. In March 2023, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun finally ruled in favor of the CCRB’s unsealing motion, but Isaacs’ attorneys immediately appealed the decision. In March 2025, the Supreme Court Second Appellate Division ruled in favor of the police union’s appeal. In September 2025, Isaacs’ discipline trial was scheduled for November 19. In response, Isaacs and his police union attorneys once again requested the NYPD Commissioner invoke provision 2 in an effort to block the CCRB’s prosecution of Isaacs and to delay the disciplinary trial – a request that Commissioner Tisch denied, as did former Commissioner Sewell in March 2022. In response to Isaacs’ attorneys’ motion, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado has recommended all charges be dismissed against Officer Isaacs and canceled the scheduled trial. In recommending the dismissal of charges, DCT Maldonado erroneously sided with Isaacs’ attorneys’ claims that this case falls outside of the CCRB’s jurisdiction because Officer Isaacs was not acting as a police officer at the time that he killed Mr. Small. For years, Isaacs' attorneys have sought to defend him by arguing that he was acting in his capacity as a police officer when he killed Mr. Small and a federal court and the Attorney General's Office have found his actions to be such as well.The decision to follow Maldonado’s recommendation, or to uphold the charges and allow Isaacs’ discipline trial to proceed, is now in the hands of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Officer Isaacs killed Mr. Small just one day before Alton Sterling was killed by police in Louisiana and two days prior to Philando Castile being killed by police in Minnesota. Officers in both cases are no longer with their respective police departments, while the NYPD still employs Isaacs.
The rally comes on the heels of Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado’s shocking recommendation to drop discipline charges against Isaacs. Her recommendation sides with Isaacs’ attorneys’ motion that the Civilian Complaint Review Board does not have jurisdiction to prosecute Isaacs because he wasn’t acting under the color of law when he killed Delrawn Small— an argument that contradicts Isaacs’ previous claim, which was upheld by a federal court, that he was acting as an officer to justify the shooting. The decision about whether or not to uphold the charges now rests with Commissioner Tisch.
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About Justice Committee:
Since the 1980s, the Justice Committee (JC) has been dedicated to building a movement against police violence and systemic racism in New York City. The heart of our work is organizing and uplifting the leadership of families who have lost loved ones to the police and survivors of police violence. We empower our community to deter police violence, hold law enforcement accountable, and build people-led community safety through grassroots organizing campaigns, community empowerment, political education, our CopWatch program, and by developing safety mechanisms and projects that decrease reliance on police. By building solidarity with other anti-racist, immigrant and people of color-led organizations, the Justice Committee seeks to contribute to a broad-based movement for racial, social, and economic justice.
About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.