Family of Allan Feliz Joined by Electeds & Community to Demand Commissioner Tisch Fires Killer Cop Rivera

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Tess Weiner, tess@justicecommittee.org, 224.213.5495

Family of Allan Feliz Joined by Electeds & Community to Demand Commissioner Tisch Fires Killer Cop Rivera

Nearly 6 years after Allan Feliz’s murder, advocates denounce Tisch’s cowardly preliminary decision to overturn guilty verdict

New York, NY — Tonight, the family of Allan Feliz was joined by Councilmembers Carmen de la Rosa and Alexa Avilés, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Justice Committee, VOCAL New York, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Make the Road, Jew for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), Until Freedom, and dozens of community members outside One Police Plaza to demand that NYPD Commissioner Tisch fire Lt. Jonathan Rivera — the officer who fatally shot 31-year-old Allan Feliz during an unjust traffic stop in 2019. The rally comes just days after Tisch issued a shocking preliminary ruling indicating she would overturn the guilty verdict issued by her own Deputy Commissioner of Trials, who recommended Rivera’s termination after finding him guilty of excessive force and assault. Tisch’s move - quietly announced late in the afternoon on July 3rd before a long holiday weekend - has sparked outrage from the Feliz family, elected officials and advocates who have spent almost 6 years fighting for Rivera’s dismissal from the NYPD.

Julie Aquino, Allan Feliz’s partner and the mother of his son, shared, “I’m devastated by Commissioner Tisch’s shameful preliminary decision not to fire Lt. Rivera for killing Allan. Allan should be alive today, spending time with his family and his children. Instead, we are here, almost 6 years later, demanding the bare minimum: for Rivera to be fired.”

After a full NYPD trial in November 2024, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Rosemarie Maldonado found that Jonathan Rivera’s use of force was unjustified and that his testimony on the stand lacked credibility. It was a rare instance of the NYPD’s internal trial process producing a clear recommendation for termination, highlighting the egregiousness of Lt. Rivera’s violent actions which killed Allan Feliz.

Mery Verdeja, the mother of Allan Feliz, remembered feeling hopeful at the time. “But now, I have lost all faith in the NYPD and this city’s administration,” she said. “When I arrived in this country, I believed the police were here to protect us and uphold the law - Lt. Rivera, Mayor Adams and Commissioner Tisch have made it very clear that this is not the case. Commissioner Tisch, despite her promises, has proven that the police cannot hold themselves accountable. This preliminary decision of hers is a mockery of justice. I am here today to tell Commissioner Tisch and Mayor Adams - it’s not too late to do the right thing: Fire Rivera for killing my son.”

“It's outrageous, cowardly and cruel to the Feliz family that Commissioner Tisch ignored the procedure laid out in the NYPD’s MOU with the CCRB in order to protect a killer cop, and intentionally dumped this news the afternoon before a long weekend,” said Yul-san Liem, Deputy Director of Justice Committee. “Commissioner Tisch must heed to CCRB’s response, her own Deputy Commissioner’s recommendation and the demands of New Yorkers and render a final decision to fire Rivera. If Tisch truly cares about the safety of New Yorkers and accountability within her department, this would have been a swift and obvious decision for her. Instead, she dragged an excruciatingly long discipline process out another five months and issued a preliminary decision based on her own self-interest, rather than on the clear facts of the case.”

“We were told to follow a process, to keep things fair, but instead, in the final hour, the Commissioner disregarded the process, after years of the Feliz family’s advocacy, after the trial, and after the decision of her own Deputy Commissioner of Trials,” remarked Councilmember Carmen de la Rosa. “We put our lives in the hands of public servants in uniform sworn to protect and serve, just to witness them killing our friends, families, and neighbors on camera. What egregious line must a cop cross before they face true disciplinary action?”

“Commissioner Tisch’s preliminary decision to clear Lt. Rivera ignores overwhelming evidence, contradicts findings by multiple oversight bodies, and undermines public trust in police,” said Andrew Case, Supervising Counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “This decision is a shameful rejection of accountability that deepens the crisis of trust between police and the communities they serve.”

"It's hard to accept that the known facts around the killing of Allan Feliz could lead to a determination of no wrongdoing, that his killer should remain on the force,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “Lt. Rivera will walk away from this incident still an officer, while Allan cannot not walk away at all. My heart and voice are with his family. In the past, this commissioner has shown a willingness to increase accountability, and with it, trust. This frustrating decision to abandon accountability -- even in the rare instance when an administrative judge recommended termination -- undercuts those goals and the future of justice in policing."

The Feliz family and supporters are calling on Commissioner Tisch to do the right thing by reversing her preliminary decision and firing Rivera, in accordance with her own Deputy Commissioner’s recommendation — and for Mayor Adams to publicly support accountability and reject impunity for officers who kill.

###

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. 

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 November 2024. In February 2025, Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado determined Lt. Rivera to be guilty of excessive force and assault in the first degree and recommended he be fired. 

In the months following, dozens of elected officials and 50 organizations added their voices to the demand that Lt. Rivera be fired. On July 3, the afternoon before a holiday weekend, Commissioner Tisch released a shameful and out-of-process announcement that she was reversing the guilty verdict against Lt. Rivera. In spite of the fact that this decision was reported on as final, the CCRB has five business days (until Friday 7/12) to respond, after which the Commissioner will make a final decision.

About the Justice Committee: Since the 1980s, the Justice Committee (JC) has worked to end police violence and systemic racism in NYC. We organize with families who have lost loved ones to the NYPD, train communities in CopWatch and ICE Watch, and develop grassroots alternatives to policing. Our work builds public safety rooted in care, not criminalization.