Family of Allan Feliz “Furious and Devastated” by Commissioner’s Dismissal of Charges Against Lt. Rivera

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, July 3, 2025

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Tess Weiner, tess@justicecommittee.org, 224.213.5495

Family of Allan Feliz “Furious and Devastated” by Commissioner’s Dismissal of Charges Against Lt. Rivera

Nearly 5 months after Deputy Commissioner Maldonado finds Rivera guilty and recommends he be fired, Tisch shamefully reverses course

New York, NY — Today, Police Commissioner Tisch reversed Deputy Commissioner Maldonado’s guilty verdict and recommendation to fire Lt. Jonathan Rivera for killing Allan Feliz. The decision comes over five years after Allan Feliz’s murder during an illegal traffic stop in October 2019.

In response to the decision, the Feliz family issued the following statement:

We are furious and devastated by Commissioner Tisch’s outrageous, cowardly, and shameful decision to overturn Deputy Commissioner Maldondo’s guilty verdict and refusal to fire or, in any way discipline, Lt. Jonathan Rivera for killing Allan. With this reversal, Tisch has made one thing unmistakably clear: her allegiance is not to the people of New York, but to violent, unaccountable cops who terrorize our communities.

Both the CCRB and NYPD’s own Deputy Commissioner of Trials found Rivera guilty of unjustly killing Allan, because he is. Rivera has continued to abuse New Yorkers since killing Allan, has a record of 39 misconduct allegations, and is named in at least 6 lawsuits. Commissioner Tisch’s decision sends a clear and terrifying message to officers that they can racially profile, abuse, and kill people with absolute impunity—and they’ll be protected at the highest levels.

For almost six years, our family has mourned Allan while simultaneously fighting for Rivera to be fired. In the midst of unimaginable suffering, we have fought and overcome countless roadblocks, delays, and obstructions by the administration, the NYPD, and the Lieutenants Union. To have come this far only for the Police Commissioner to spit in the face of justice by capriciously and dangerously flipping Maldonado’s ruling is heartbreaking. This disgraceful outcome lays bare what we’ve always known to be true: the NYPD discipline system is rigged to protect cops, no matter how vile their actions. The authority to discipline officers must be stripped from the police commissioner and we will continue to fight for this and for all victims of police violence in Allan’s name.

Yul-san Liem (she/they), Deputy Director of Justice Committee, issued the following statement:

Commissioner Tisch’s decision not to fire Lt. Jonathan Rivera is grave injustice to the Feliz family, an unforgivable betrayal of New Yorkers, and proof that the NYPD will never hold itself accountable. Lt. Rivera brutally murdered a New Yorker without cause and he had a laundry list of complaints against him from both before and after he killed Allan. He should have been fired years ago - and Commissioner Tisch and Mayor Adams’ refusal to do this puts all New Yorkers at risk.

Tisch’s attempts to brand herself as a different kind of commissioner has lulled some elected officials into complacency or even praise, but with this decision, she has shown her true colors: she is no different from any of Eric Adams’ other police commissioners. When faced with a clear-cut case of deadly misconduct, she sided with the killer.

The Commissioner and Mayor should be ashamed at the excruciatingly long and traumatizing discipline process they have forced the Feliz family to endure. This process has nothing to do with justice or safety. It is a system designed to protect abusive cops at all costs, to wear down families, and to delay and dissolve any change at disciplining officers. The authority to discipline officers must be removed from the police commissioner.

###

Background: On October 17, 2019, NYPD Lt. Jonathan Rivera (who was a sergeant at the time) and Officers Edward Barrett and Michelle Almanzar pulled Allan Feliz over on the corner of E 211 St and Bainbridge Ave for allegedly not wearing a seatbelt. Bodyworn camera (bwc) footage shows officers acknowledging that Mr. Feliz was wearing his seatbelt, but rather than allowing him to drive away, the officers escalated by illegally detaining him and attacking him. Lt. Rivera climbed into the passenger side of the car, tasered, beat and threatened to shoot Mr. Feliz, and then shot him point blank in the chest. After Mr. Feliz was shot, Officer Barrett yanked Mr. Feliz’s limp body from the car, exposing his genitals. None of the officers immediately covered Mr. Feliz or provided medical aid. Instead, they left Mr. Feliz to bleed out, cuffed, and exposed. Moments after shooting Mr. Feliz, Lt. Rivera exclaimed, “I was fighting. My hand was getting tired.”

After years of delays and obstruction, in May 2023, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) substantiated fireable charges against Lt. Rivera for the killing of Allan Feliz. The NYPD delayed the process further by failing to deliver the charges to Lt. Rivera so that a discipline trial could be scheduled for over a year. Finally, after multiple rallies and press conferences, the NYPD delivered the charges in June 2024 and a discipline trial was held in Nov. 2024. In February, Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado determined Lt. Rivera to be guilty of excessive force and assault in the first degree and is recommended he be fired. In March and April, over 30 elected officials and 50 organizations signed on in support of the Feliz family’s demands to fire Rivera.

About the 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.