Family of Brooklyn man shot dead by off-duty NYPD cop demands judge unseal records
The family of a man shot dead by an off-duty NYPD officer in 2016 says a Brooklyn judge is slow-walking a request to unseal records needed for an internal disciplinary trial that could result in the cop’s firing.
Delrawn Small’s brother stood alongside criminal justice reform advocates outside Brooklyn Supreme Court on Monday to demand Justice Danny Chun unseal the trial records of Officer Wayne Isaacs, who was acquitted of murder and manslaughter in 2017. The documents were sealed after the verdict.
The CCRB filed its motion to unseal the records last October. Small’s family alleges the judge has refused to rule on the motion for more than a year, though the formal briefs arguing the motion were only submitted in April.
“We’re gonna hold Judge Chun accountable. It’s been way too long for him to make a decision on this motion,” said Small’s brother, Victor Dempsey. “I’ve been fighting for about half a decade now for Wayne Isaacs to be fired. ... My family has endured enough. I’ve endured enough.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams also called on Chun to unseal the records.
“You shouldn’t have to fight so hard just to have the process go through,” he said. “This process always seems to get jammed up, particularly when you have police-involved shootings.”
Isaacs shot Small, 37, during a road-rage incident near the corner of Atlantic Ave. and Bradford St. in East New York just after midnight on July 4, 2016.
Small, unarmed, had crossed two lanes of traffic to confront Isaacs in his car. Almost as soon as he reached Isaacs’ window, the officer shot him three times, striking him in the chest. Isaacs then walked by his body and called 911 to claim he was attacked and punched.
The CCRB substantiated an excessive-force complaint in October 2020, and the NYPD announced three months later that Isaacs would face an internal trial.
Fast forward to November 2022, and Isaacs remains on the police force.
The CCRB is waiting for the records to be unsealed before it can go forward with the disciplinary trial.
The Police Benevolent Association unsuccessfully sued to have the CCRB kicked off the case. When a judge dismissed the suit, PBA President Patrick Lynch sent a letter to Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell asking her to intervene and block the trial.
She refused the PBA’s request in May.
Chun won’t comment on the pending matter, said Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen.
Criminal justice reform advocates blasted Chun as a cop-friendly judge, referencing his decision to give probation to former Officer Peter Liang. Liang was convicted of manslaughter in the 2014 shooting of Akai Gurley.
Chun was also criticized for giving no jail time to disgraced detectives Eddie Martins and Richard Hall, who pleaded guilty to robbery and official misconduct after a young woman they arrested accused them of raping her.
Lynch argued Monday that the trial records should remain sealed.
“The law that seals trial records of cases ending in acquittal is meant to protect the rights of the wrongfully accused,” he said. “By pushing to unseal these records to advance their anti-cop agenda, CCRB is not only trampling this police officer’s rights — they are undermining the rights of every innocent New Yorker.”
