New York Police Department Officer Wayne Issacs is expected to surrender to authorities and appear in a Brooklyn court on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2016 to answer to charges of murder and manslaughter after shooting Delrawn Small on July 4.
Isaacs and Small, both 37, had a confrontation on Independence Day when Small felt Isaacs cut him off. Isaacs was in civilian gear when Small approached his car at the stoplight at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Bradford Street. Isaacs opened fire on Small. Video footage contradicts a witness’ claim that Small reached into the car and punched Isaacs, provoking the shooting. It shows Small walking across two lanes of traffic to get to Isaac’s driver-side window, and one second later is seen staggering backward before collapsing.
Isaacs had just ended his shift at a Brooklyn precinct and drove away in his civilian clothes. He was placed on desk duty pending the investigation. His gun and his badge were taken away.
Isaacs is the first cop to be charge by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman under his role as special prosecutor for all police killings of civilians in New York. Schneiderman was assigned as special prosecutor by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2015 in in the wake of Eric Garner’s chokehold death. At the time, Cuomo said he was addressing a “crisis of confidence in the criminal justice system” in a bid to prevent “anarchy.”
Small, who was riding in the car with his girlfriend, Zaquanna Albert, and their two children ages five months and 14 years old, became enraged when he thought Isaacs cut him off. Against his girlfriend’s wishes, he followed Isaacs’ car to the stoplight.
The Smalls’ family attorney, Roger Wareham, said the video footage “clearly demonstrates the cop lied,” adding that Isaacs looks down at Small’s body “as if he had just stepped on a roach.”
Small’s family has filed a $25M wrongful-death claim against New York City.
The police union representing Isaacs has declined comment.
