In response to the State Supreme Court Second Appellate Division’s ruling to overturn Judge Danny Chun’s decision to unseal the records from NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs’ murder trial for killing Delrawn Small in 2016, Victoria Davis and Victor Dempsey (sister and brother of Mr. Small) released the following statement:
“We are completely devastated by the appellate court's decision to reverse the unsealing order. Unfortunately, we’re not surprised because the City Law Department, which represented the CCRB in oral arguments, was unprepared and inconceivably weak on both the details of the case and why the CCRB needs the records in order to fully prosecute Isaacs in the upcoming discipline trial that has been delayed for almost 9 years.
After hearing from other families– whose loved ones' cases were also represented poorly by the Law Department–it became clear that this was a concerning trend. There is also an inherent conflict of interest as the Law Department represents the NYPD and the Adams administration. Despite requesting that the CCRB retain independent counsel, they were unable to do so. So here we are, continuing to fight to hold the cop that murdered our brother accountable against a system that is designed to protect abusive officers at every turn. We’re talking about a cop that the State Attorney General charged with murder.
The CCRB substantiated charges and recommended Officer Isaacs be fired over four years ago. It shouldn’t take almost a decade to discipline an NYPD officer who shot and killed an unarmed New Yorker in front of his 4-month old baby. But make no mistake, we have fought through two mayoral administrations and seven police commissioners. No matter what the police union, the NYPD, the CCRB, the Law Department, the administration, and these judges throw at us, we will not stop fighting for Delrawn. Police Commissioner Tisch and Mayor Adams need to fire NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs.
We urge all New Yorkers who care about justice and accountability to demand that Mayor Adams and Commissioner Tisch take immediate action to fire Officer Isaacs. We also call on lawmakers to ensure that independent legal representation is available in cases of police violence to prevent the Law Department from continuing to fail families like ours. Transparency and justice should not be optional."
Note: Oral arguments on the unsealing motion appeal can be found here. The Wayne Isaacs case begins at 33:29 with Isaacs' attorney. The Law Department begins their argument at 59:55.
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 - rolled down his window, shot Mr. Small three times and then 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 Oct. 2020. In October 2021, the CCRB filed 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, 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. Oral arguments on the appeal were held in November 2024. In March 2025, the Supreme Court Second Appellate Division ruled in favor of the police union’s appeal.
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.
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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.