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Family of man killed by NYPD officer set to make case for officer’s firing
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published May 14, 2026
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Catalina Gonella / Gothamist
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published May 14, 2026
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Attorneys for the family of a man who was shot and killed by a New York City police officer during a 2019 traffic stop in the Bronx are set to argue the merits of their lawsuit against the city and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Thursday.
The family of 31-year-old Allan Feliz, who was shot and killed by Lt. Jonathan Rivera, filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court in 2025, alleging Tisch improperly rejected the findings of a departmental judge when she declined to fire the officer after an administrative trial. They are requesting a judge to order that Rivera be fired, according to the lawsuit, which does not ask for monetary damages.
Attorneys for the city have moved to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing in part that Tisch properly applied the law and thoroughly explained why she decided not to fire Rivera, who was not charged criminally. The judge presiding over the civil case scheduled pre-trial oral arguments for Thursday morning.
At Rivera’s NYPD trial in 2024, Deputy Commissioner Rosemarie Maldonado concluded Rivera should be fired for the shooting after weighing the testimony and evidence presented. But under NYPD guidelines, the police commissioner has the final say on what discipline should be meted out after departmental trials.
In July 2025, Tisch rejected Maldonado’s findings and made the decision not to fire Rivera for the fatal shooting. At the time, Tisch had led the department for less than a year and in that short time period, earned a reputation as a commissioner intent on rooting out corruption and punishing officers for misconduct.
But critics of Tisch said her decision in the case undercut the narrative that she’s truly committed to holding officers accountable. Groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union said her decision is consistent with the department not properly punishing officers — even if they’re convicted at an administrative trial.
“She showed New Yorkers that the NYPD cares more about shielding its officers from discipline than it does about protecting New Yorkers from police abuse,” Michael Sisitzky and Marie Holmes of the NYCLU said in a statement afterward.
The lawsuit centers on Feliz's killing, which happened during a car stop in the Bronx in 2019. Officers, including Rivera, stopped Feliz because they alleged his seatbelt was undone.
During the stop, Feliz gave the officers his brother’s identification, and the officers determined his brother had outstanding warrants. Feliz initially got out of the car when directed to do so by officers, but then climbed back into the driver’s seat and officers began to struggle with him, according to the lawsuit.
The officers pulled at Feliz from different directions, and Rivera got into the car from the passenger side. During the struggle, Rivera shocked Feliz with a Taser, punched him and ultimately shot him once in the chest, killing him.
Rivera later testified that he shot Feliz because he feared he was going to run over another officer during the struggle.
In her decision, Tisch cited what she described as an exhaustive review completed by the state attorney general’s office, which said the office would not criminally charge Rivera. The AG’s report said evidence in the case “strongly suggests” Rivera was justified in shooting Feliz because he did so to protect the life of another officer, Tisch noted in her decision.
But the lawsuit alleges Tisch improperly relied on the findings of the AG's 5-year-old report, while ignoring evidence collected after it was published. The lawsuit notes the attorney general’s investigation found Rivera credible, but says it came to that conclusion “based on a more limited record” than the one that had been established by his departmental trial.
At the trial, Maldonado found Rivera lacked credibility because of new evidence, as well as his demeanor and tone during the hearings, the lawsuit states.
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Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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