Statement: Family of Delrawn Small Demand Firing of NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs After Judge Denies Officers’ Attempt to Block Investigation

A New York State Supreme Court Judge Verna L. Saunders dismissed NYPD Officer Wayne’s Isaacs’ baseless attempt to block his long-delayed discipline trial for killing Delrawn Small. Isaacs, who shot and killed Delrawn Small in front of his 4-month-old baby, teen stepdaughter, and girlfriend on July 4, 2016, filed an Article 78 lawsuit in March 2021 to try to prevent the CCRB from moving forward in a disciplinary prosecution.

Now, the family of Delrawn Small, Justice Committee, and Communities United for Police Reform are calling for the CCRB and NYPD to immediately schedule a disciplinary trial and for the NYPD to fire Wayne Isaacs. In January of last year (2021), the NYPD was forced to stop blocking the CCRB charges from being served on Isaacs, and still, a disciplinary trial has not been scheduled and Wayne Isaacs remains on the payroll of the NYPD. 

Delrawn Small was killed 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. Isaacs killed Delrawn in front of his loved ones, including his four-month-old baby, 14-year-old stepdaughter, and girlfriend.

Below are statements from Victoria Davis and Victor Dempsey, Delrawn’s siblings, in response to the court's dismissal of Wayne Isaacs' and his police union attorney’s baseless attempt to block disciplinary action for his killing of Delrawn Small: 

“Wayne Isaacs murdered our brother and has escaped consequences for more than 5 and a half years,” said Victoria Davis (she/her) sister of Delrawn Small, co-founder of Sisters of Justice, and who works for the M4BL, and Victor Dempsey (he/him), brother of Delrawn Small. “We’re glad the judge dismissed his baseless attempt to block the discipline trial, but it’s unacceptable that the City and the NYPD have allowed Isaacs to collect his paycheck and continue to patrol our streets, to this day, without any consequences. Having Wayne Isaacs on the force is putting New Yorkers at risk every day and sending the message that NYPD officers can kill New Yorkers without consequences. We need Mayor Adams to ensure that the NYPD and CCRB immediately schedule a disciplinary trial and Mayor Adams and the NYPD must fire Wayne Isaacs.”

“For years Delrawn Small’s family has been demanding accountability from the NYPD and for years they have been denied,” said Monifa Bandele (she/her), spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform. “Mayor Adams must learn from the failures of the past mayor and refuse to allow the NYPD’s impunity to continue on during his administration. Now that the judge has dismissed Wayne Isaacs' baseless attempt to block an investigation, the NYPD must schedule his disciplinary trial and Mayor Adams and the NYPD must fire him.” 

Background:

On July 4, 2016, in East New York, Brooklyn, 37-year-old Delrawn Small was shot and killed by NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs. The killing occurred 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 Isaacs is still employed by the NYPD more than five and a half years later. Isaacs killed Delrawn in front of his loved ones, including his four-month-old son, 14-year-old stepdaughter, and girlfriend. 

Initial false accounts from Isaacs and the NYPD claimed that the officer was being assaulted when he fired his weapon, but nearby surveillance video, released days after these false accounts saturated media coverage of the killing, discredited Isaacs’ and the NYPD’s claims. The footage showed that Isaacs shot Delrawn Small, who was unarmed, within seconds and without provocation, contradicting the initial accounts Isaacs and the NYPD made. After shooting Small, Isaacs left him to bleed to death on the ground, offering no emergency aid and never even communicating that he had shot someone in his 911 call. Isaacs also never sought to check on Small’s health and well-being after firing his weapon, leaving Small to bleed out and die in the street.

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.

About Communities United for Police Reform

Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory and abusive 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.