Oversight Panel Cleared To Discipline Cop In East NY Killing: Family

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — The NYPD's oversight board has been cleared to pursue its disciplinary case against an officer who shot and killed a man in East New York six years ago, marking a win for the family who has sought justice since his slaying, advocates announced Friday.

In a rebuff of the NYPD's own union, Commissioner Keechant Sewell told the Civilian Complaint Review Board to go ahead with its case against Officer Wayne Isaacs, who fatally shot Delrawn Small in 2016, according to family and nonprofit Justice Committee.

Isaacs' union-provided attorneys had asked that the CCRB's disciplinary trial be dismissed given that the NYPD had cleared Isaacs of wrongdoing in its own internal probe.

“We are relieved to finally learn that the NYPD rejected the police union's ridiculous request to remove the Civilian Complaint Review Board from the discipline prosecution of Officer Wayne Isaacs," Small's siblings, Victoria Davis and Victor Dempsey, said in a statement. "Isaacs should have already been fired, and it's outrageous that the police union continues to play games."

Isaacs — who still holds a $114,000-salary position on the force — has claimed he was acting in self defense when he shot Smalls three times in a Brooklyn "road rage" encounter while he was off-duty, according to reports and public records.

In the year after the fatal shooting, Isaacs was acquitted of second-degree murder, according to reports.

The police union pointed to that acquittal in their claim the CCRB shouldn't pursue the case.

“CCRB has nothing new to add to this case, which has already been fully investigated and adjudicated by the NYPD," Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch said in a statement. on Friday. "The police officer was also acquitted by a Brooklyn jury. CCRB is simply looking for a third bite at the apple in order to justify their bloated budget and advance their anti-cop agenda.”

The green light from NYPD top brass for the oversight panel comes after Mayor Eric Adams met with Small's siblings, and relatives of others killed by police officers last month, notes Politico.

The move could be a signal as to how the mayor — both a former cop and victim of police violence — might approach police reform, according to the outlet. He said Friday he supports the decision to let the CCRB pursue its case against Isaacs.

"We have the CCRB for a reason — we thought that at this time that case specifically should [find] a full resolution within the CCRB," Adams said. "The police commissioner made the determination, I support her."