MEDIA CONTACT: Eliel Cruz
press@justicecommittee.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CCRB CLEARED TO MOVE FORWARD ON DISCIPLINE PROSECUTION OF
OFFICER WAYNE ISAACS IN KILLING OF DELRAWN SMALL
NYPD REJECTS POLICE UNION REQUEST TO BLOCK DISCIPLINE TRIAL
Friday, May 6th––In March, the NYPD’s largest police union requested NYPD Commissioner Sewell to block the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) from pursuing a disciplinary trial against Officer Wayne Isaacs in the 2016 killing of Delrawn Small. Dozens of national and local racial justice and police accountability groups, and a host of elected officials including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City Council member Sandy Nurse signed letters and rallied calling on Mayor Adams and the NYPD to reject the request.
ON THURSDAY, May 5th, the siblings of Delrawn Small and the Justice Committee were notified that the NYPD has rejected the police union ask and that the CCRB has been cleared to continue their prosecution of Isaacs. This decision paves the way for what may be the first discipline trial of an NYPD officer who has killed a civilian to proceed under Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
Following the decision, Victoria Davis and Victor Dempsey, the siblings of Delrawn Small released the following statement:
“We are relieved to finally learn that the NYPD rejected the police union's ridiculous request to remove the Civilian Complaint Review Board from the discipline prosecution of Officer Wayne Isaacs. Isaacs murdered our brother, Delrawn Small, in front of his 4-month-old baby, teen stepdaughter, and girlfriend almost six years ago, lied about the incident, and provided no assistance to our brother after he shot him three times. Isaacs should have already been fired, and it's outrageous that the police union continues to play games. The discipline trial of Officer Wayne Isaacs should be scheduled as soon as possible, and he should be fired for the safety of all New Yorkers.”
BACKGROUND
On July 4, 2016, in East New York, Brooklyn, 37-year-old Delrawn Small was shot and killed by NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs. Officer Wayne Isaacs killed Delrawn 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 Isaacs is still employed by the NYPD.
Isaacs shot Delrawn Small three times in front of his loved ones, including his four-month-old son, 14-year-old stepdaughter, and girlfriend. Isaacs shot Delrawn Small, who was unarmed, within seconds, contradicting initial false 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 communicated 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 and only case the office prosecuted after Governor Cuomo's 2015 executive order and the state legislature’s 2020 law authorizing the AG to investigate police killings. In February 2022, the New York State Supreme Court Judge Verna L. Saunders dismissed NYPD Officer Wayne’s Isaacs’ Article 78 lawsuit, one of the police union’s baseless attempts to block his long-delayed discipline trial. In March, the police union again attempted to block a discipline trial of Wayne Isaacs by requesting that the NYPD remove the CCRB from the discipline prosecution.
###
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.