Mother to Mother: A letter to Commissioner Tisch

Dear Commissioner Tisch,

We wish you well on this Mother’s Day. We hope you are spending it with your sons. Sadly, we cannot do the same.

We write to you, mother to mother, to call on you to fire Lt. Jonathan Rivera for killing Allan Feliz. You know, as well as we do, how joyful, laborious, fulfilling, busy, and extraordinary mothering can be. It is such a blessing to be a mother. It is also the most unbearable loss, to lose your child. No parent is prepared for this level of devastation. Nor should any mother have to explain the tragic loss of another parent to their child, as the mother of Allan’s son has had to for six years. This pain is amplified unmeasurably when that loss is at the hands of those who are supposedly meant to protect and serve us. We hope you never experience the suffering we have endured, but as a mother who would do anything to protect her children, we hope  you can understand our pain.

You cannot bring our loved ones back, but you can help ensure that no other mother has to suffer what we have at the hands of your officers. Firing officer Rivera will prevent him from abusing another New Yorker and demonstrates that you will not tolerate excessive force by your officers.  

Allan Feliz was murdered almost six years ago, and the officers who killed him have not been held accountable. Three months ago, your Deputy Commissioner of Trials, Rosemarie Maldondo, found Lt. Jonathan Rivera guilty of excessive force for killing Allan and recommended he be terminated from the NYPD. This is not just about Allan - it’s about keeping all New Yorkers safe. Lt. Rivera has a long history of misconduct, both before and since killing Allan, including shooting a teenager who was trying to surrender. If he had been fired earlier, Allan would still be alive today. It is just a matter of time before Lt. Rivera harms another New Yorker, unless you step in.

The only Mother’s Day gift we want this year is for you to follow Deputy Commissioner Maldonado’s recommendation and fire Jonathan Rivera immediately. While it will not bring Allan back, it means the man who killed Allan will no longer patrol the streets, gun in hand, endangering other mothers’ sons. It means Allan’s son, Eli, now six years old, won’t have to worry about being targeted by police because he looks like his father.

We hope every Mother’s Day, you are surrounded by your family in joy.  We hope you can bring us some peace, even if we cannot do the same.

Sincerely,

Mothers who are missing their loved ones this Mother’s Day

Mery Verdeja, Mother of Allan Feliz, killed by NYPD in 2019

Julie Aquino, Mother of Eli, Allan Feliz’s son

Valerie Bell, Mother of Sean Bell, killed by NYPD in 2006

Kadiatou Diallo, Mother of Amadou Diallo, killed by NYPD in 1999

Iris Baez, Mother of Anthony Baez, killed by NYPD in 1994