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Off-Duty NYPD Cop Charged With Murder In Road Rage Shooting
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 26, 2016
Modified Sep 26, 2016
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Mark Mellone
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 26, 2016
Modified Sep 26, 2016
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The NYPD officer who fatally shot an unarmed man in Brooklyn earlier this summer has been formally charged. Officer Wayne Isaacs, a three-year veteran of the force, has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter by a Brooklyn grand jury following a probe by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
The fatal shooting occurred just after midnight on July 4th, near the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Bradford Street in East New York. Victim Delrawn Small, 37, was in a car with his girlfriend and two young children, and Isaacs was driving home from his shift at the 79th Precinct. Small reportedly believed Isaacs cut him off as both were driving on Atlantic. In an incident of apparent road rage, Small exited his vehicle and approached Isaac's car. Isaacs in turn shot him twice through the open window of his car.
Though police initially said that Small punched Isaacs repeatedly in the head before the off-duty cop shot, security video footage released later appears to show that Isaacs shot Small practically as soon as he approached the car. Isaacs called 911 to the scene, and when EMS workers arrived, they pronounced Small dead.
After the video was released, Isaacs was placed on modified assignment and stripped of his badge and gun. Small was mourned in a number of protests as well, including one which was led by his nephew, Zayanahla Vines. "He needs to be in jail," Vines said of Isaacs during one of those events. "He needs to be stripped from his titles. It needs to happen ASAP because my uncle is dead."
The Post adds that Isaacs is the first cop charged by the special prosecutor since Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Schneiderman to that role in August 2015.
Small's wife also filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city, seeking restitution for what she insists was a "cold-blooded murder."
Tagged
delrawn small
murder
nypd
road rage
wayne isaacs
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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