[AmNY] Justice delayed, but will justice be denied over Allan Feliz’s killing?

by Tandy Lau for Amsterdam News

Police reform advocates are waiting restlessly as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch mulls over her first big test on the issue of officer accountability.

In February, an NYPD disciplinary trial found Lt. Jonathan Rivera guilty of first-degree assault for the killing of Allan Feliz in 2019, an offense that should lead to termination based on the department’s rulebook. Like with all police misconduct cases, the final call goes to the NYPD commissioner.

While there is no official deadline for Tisch to make her decision, Feliz’s family called for a decision by March 31. They have not received a response. So a day later —this past Tuesday on April 1— 50 organizations signed a letter calling for Tisch to fire Rivera.

“The deadline of the 31st was given simply to set an expectation for police commissioner Tisch to understand that this isn’t something that we’re just going to sit back and allow it to just keep accruing more and more time,” said Samy Feliz, Allan Feliz’s brother. “It has been already five years and this officer has still been patrolling the streets of New York, which is not providing any New Yorker any sense of safety nor accountability towards the NYPD.”

Rivera, at the time an NYPD sergeant, pulled over the unarmed Feliz with two other officers over an alleged seatbelt violation. Despite the dubious stop which the letter said “reek[ed] of racial profiling” — particularly since Feliz was wearing a seatbelt when pulled over — police ran his license and found outstanding warrants for failing to pay fines over minor offenses like spitting and littering. The encounter escalated when Feliz reached for the gearshift to allegedly drive away, leading to Rivera initially tasing, and then, fatally shooting Feliz in the chest.

While the State Attorney General opted not to bring criminal charges, the office found “serious concerns about the NYPD’s handling of the incident.” The Civilian Complaint Review Board, the independent city agency for police oversight, investigated and substantiated misconduct allegations against Rivera over the shooting, which led to the NYPD trial last November. Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado, who ostensibly serves as the “judge” for NYPD trials, rejected Rivera’s claim justifying the killing due to safety concerns of his fellow officers.

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