Commissioner Tisch defies NYPD ruling by not firing officer who killed Allan Feliz

Roughly five months ago, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Rosemarie Maldonado determined Lt. Jonathan Rivera violated department guidelines when he killed Allan Feliz, a Washington Heights man, during a 2019 traffic stop. He would be fired based on the NYPD disciplinary matrix.

- By TANDY LAU

But police commissioner Jessica Tisch gets final say on disciplinary measures without a formal deadline. For months, Feliz’s family waited. On Mother's Day, his mom, Mery Verdeja, and his longtime partner, Julie Aquino, penned a letter to Tisch for an answer and accountability. On Father's Day, his stepdaughter Kilsi sent a similar note.

They received no answer beyond neutral statements refusing to comment on pending matters until this past Thursday, July 3 when they learned Tisch would not fire Rivera just hours before the long holiday weekend kicked off. The NYPD did not directly inform them. Rather, they learned the information from another city agency.

“This is just showing us how much of a mockery of justice that this system has been,” said Allan's brother Samy Feliz over the phone. “And for the community to be forever vigilant on what's happening around them with these politicians. We [were] promised so many things, especially from police commissioner Tisch.

“We were told how different she was and how much actual meaningful change she was looking to do and how far away from other police commissioners under Eric Adams she has been. And that has been disproven just in this sole decision.”

Cops almost never get terminated for what happens behind a badge (although firings occur more frequently for officers who commit crimes or break department rules off the clock). But rarely do the stars align between a Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) prosecution and an NYPD administrative ruling for such a high stakes case.

In fact, the last — and only — other time a CCRB prosecution over a fireable offense went as far as Rivera's was in the case of Daniel Pantaleo, who killed Eric Garner. Then-commissioner James O'Neill fired the Staten Island cop within weeks of Maldonado determining that he broke department policy during the incident famously known for the haunting last words “I can't breathe.”