Wayne Isaacs, the NYPD officer who killed Delrawn Small in 2016, is suing to prevent the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) from prosecuting his case. Isaacs filed an Article 78 petition, attempting to stop any further investigation into his misconduct related to the killing of Delrawn Small. In January, the NYPD was forced to stop blocking the CCRB charges from being served on Isaacs.
Isaacs shot and killed Delrawn Small on July 4, 2016. 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 four and a half years later. 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 Small’s siblings, and Loyda Colon, Communities United for Police Reform spokesperson and Executive Director of the Justice Committee, in response to Officer Wayne Isaacs' lawsuit attempting to block CCRB prosecution in the killing of Delrawn Small.
“Wayne Isaacs killed our brother over four and half years ago, in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Brooklyn, and all of it was on video—a video that the Mayor hasn’t even bothered to watch,” said Victoria Davis (she/her) and Victor Dempsey (he/him), sister and brother of Delrawn Small. “Isaacs has suffered zero consequences for killing Delrawn and has filed a ridiculous lawsuit to try to keep his job and prevent accountability. The level of disrespect our family has had to deal with and the pain we’ve had to endure is outrageous, but this is how Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD treats families of New Yorkers killed by police. This lawsuit must be thrown out, a discipline trial needs to be scheduled this spring, and Isaacs must be fired as soon as possible. The NYPD should not be allowed to drag this out any longer.”
“Delrawn Small’s family shouldn't have to fight for over four and half years to hold the dangerous cop that murdered their unarmed brother accountable, meanwhile the Mayor and the NYPD have done everything they can to protect Officer Wayne Isaacs,” said Loyda Colon (they/them) spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform and Executive Director of the Justice Committee. "The only people that are late here are Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD who should have fired Wayne Isaacs when he was charged with murdering Delrawn by the State Attorney General's office. Instead, they sat on their hands for months, delaying the CCRB charges from even being served on Isaacs. This hail mary is disrespectful to Delrawn's family, and a danger to all New Yorkers. Daniel Pantaleo tried these same legal tricks to avoid discipline after he killed Eric Garner. It didn’t work for him, and it shouldn’t work for Wayne Isaacs. The Mayor needs to schedule the trial and fire Wayne Isaacs.”
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 four 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 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.