[Gothamist] NYPD officer faces disciplinary trial 10 years after killing Delrawn Small

By Ben Feuerherd - published Oct. 21, 2026

The NYPD officer who shot and killed a man during a traffic dispute in Brooklyn more than a decade ago will face a departmental trial early next year, members of the slain man’s family said Wednesday.

Officer Wayne Isaacs will go on trial in January on a charge that he used improper force when he shot and killed Delrawn Small in East New York in July 2016.

The case against Isaacs was brought by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the NYPD oversight agency that has authority to investigate police abuses against New Yorkers, including fatal shootings.

For members of Small’s family, the departmental trial is the latest legal twist in a decadelong fight to hold Isaacs accountable for killing Small. The state attorney general brought murder and manslaughter charges against Isaacs, but a jury acquitted him of all counts. Small’s family also sued him in federal civil court and won a settlement from the city.

“Everyone’s been asking me, ‘How do you feel?’ I still don’t know how to answer that,” Small’s brother, Victor Dempsey, told reporters Wednesday after meeting with officials from the CCRB. “The reason I can’t answer that is because our family has been fighting for 10 years.”

In a statement, Patrick Hendry, the president of the union that represents Isaacs, said the oversight agency is unfairly pursuing the case.

“It defies belief that this case is still ongoing. This police officer was tried and acquitted by a jury. He was already cleared by the NYPD under previous administrations. An NYPD trial commissioner has already ruled twice that the case should not proceed,” Hendry said.

“CCRB is continuing to push this case without a single shred of new evidence, and their real goal is clear: they want to expand their power and erase any remaining due process protections for police officers,” he added.

Dakota Gardner, a spokesperson for the Civilian Complaint Review Board, did not respond to Hendry's statements, but said board members are confident about the case they brought against Isaacs.

“We are pleased that [NYPD] Commissioner [Jessica] Tisch recognizes the importance of a trial in this case. CCRB prosecutors are confident in the strength of the evidence and look forward to arguing their case early next year.”

The shooting

Isaacs shot Small three times in the early hours of July 4, 2016, not long after he got off duty from his job as a police officer in Brooklyn’s 79th Precinct.

Both men had been driving in East New York. After some sort of incident on the road, Small got out of his car and walked over to the driver-side window of Isaacs’ car.

Isaacs has maintained that he opened fire only after Small punched him multiple times through his open driver-side window. But video published after the shooting shows Small dropping and falling to the street almost immediately after walking up to the car window.

The NYPD fully reinstated Isaacs after he was cleared of criminal charges. He’s currently assigned to the office of Chief of Special Operations, according to NYPD records.

On Wednesday, Dempsey said the only fair outcome from the departmental trial would be for Isaacs to be fired.

“I’m calling on Mayor Mamdani to pay attention to this. How is your administration going to operate?” he said.

‘Police action’

A year ago, the case was scheduled to go to departmental trial but hit another legal snag.

Attorneys for Isaacs argued in filings that the NYPD’s trial board lacked jurisdiction because he was off duty at the time of the shooting.

The NYPD judge presiding over the case, Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado, agreed with the arguments and issued a final recommendation that the case be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.

Tisch, who has final authority on disciplinary matters in the department, overturned that decision in August.

In a letter issued in August, Tisch wrote that Isaacs has argued in the case that he was taking “police action” when he shot Small because he was defending himself against violent crime.

“[Isaacs’] position is that he was taking police action, but that nevertheless CCRB lacks jurisdiction over an allegation of excessive force arising from that police action. That is untenable,” Tisch wrote.

Read on Gothamist