NYPD at a memorial for Delrawn Small in Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/Sipa USA via AP
Just after midnight on July 4 in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, a man grew furious upon determining another driver cut him off on the road. Delrawn Small, who was with his girlfriend and kids, followed an off-duty cop named Wayne Isaacs for about seven blocks, apparently unwilling to let the slight go unspoken.
Eventually, Small got out of his car to say his piece at a traffic light. But Isaacs, who was wearing civilian clothing and was on his way home from a shift, pulled his service weapon from underneath his shirt and let out three rounds, killing Small.
Although the cop claimed he was punched through his car window, surveillance footage from the scene does not support that account. Zaquanna Albert, the girlfriend, has said Small had a short temper and enjoyed three drinks that night at a barbecue. She also told police Isaacs exited his car to shoot at Small—even though shell casings were found inside his vehicle, according to the New York Post.
Despite the conflicting stories, Isaacs was indicted for murder Monday, and the State Attorney General's Office announced formal charges Tuesday afternoon of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. As his wife sobbed, Isaacs pleaded not guilty, and his bail was set at $500,000.
Governor Andrew Cuomo decided last year that State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office should handle all cases where a cop is accused of killing an unarmed civilian in New York—a nod to concerns about local DAs being too cozy with the cops they need to make cases. This is the first time that someone has been prosecuted under the new regime.
Neither of the men in this involved are strangers to trouble. Small has a 19-item rap sheet and has served prison stints for attempted robbery, attempted drug sale to a cop, and a stabbing, according to the Post. Meanwhile, the city was forced to pay a $20,000 settlement last year to a man who alleged that Isaacs beat him along with another cop, one of whom allegedly called the suspect a "nigger."
Video of the incident released by the Post shows Isaacs shooting Small almost immediately upon making contact with him.
The officer's lawyer, Stephen C. Worth, told a judge that his client's involvement in Small's death in no way resembles the seemingly endless amount of others that have sparked protests, outrage, and arrests since the Black Lives Matter movement broke through in 2014. Worth specifically cited the case of Peter Liang, the rookie NYPD cop who accidentally shot and killed 28-year-old Akai Gurley in 2014; after being convicted of manslaughter and official misconduct, Liang got off with no prison time.
Justice Alexander Jeong on Tuesday was quick to point out a key difference here is that no one is disputing that the shooting was intentional. As one prosecutor put it, this was "a brutal, deliberate action wherein this defendant fired not one, not two, but three shots."
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