Tisch overrules NYPD judge, clears officer who killed unarmed man during Bronx traffic stop

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch overruled a departmental judge’s recommendation and cleared an officer who fatally shot an unarmed man during a 2019 traffic stop in the Bronx.

After a departmental trial last year, NYPD Judge Rosemarie Maldonado recommended firing Lt. Jonathan Rivera. She sided with the city’s police watchdogs, who said Rivera needlessly shot Allan Feliz as he tried to flee the stop.

But Tisch disagreed, writing that Rivera and Feliz “engaged in an intense physical struggle” and that Rivera made a “split-second decision when he believed that his fellow officer’s life was at immediate risk.”

In a statement, Feliz’s family said they were outraged and accused Tisch of prioritizing police over public accountability.

Rivera was among several officers who pulled over Feliz, a 31-year-old Washington Heights resident, for not wearing a seatbelt. Officers found open warrants tied to the identification Feliz provided. As Feliz tried to drive off, Rivera fired a single shot into his chest, killing him.

Rivera testified that he feared other officers might be run over because he couldn’t see them during the struggle.

Maldonado found that the explanation was inadequate. In her ruling, she wrote that the use of deadly force requires more than the mere possibility of danger.

But Tisch overruled that finding, saying the car lurched backward and Rivera’s fellow officer, Edward Barrett, who had been on the driver’s side, briefly disappeared from view.

“It was reasonable for [Rivera] to believe that Officer Barrett had been hit by the car door and had fallen under the car,” Tisch wrote. “Given Mr. Feliz’s repeated, unyielding efforts to move the gearshift into drive despite all efforts by the officers, it was reasonable for [Rivera] to believe that Mr. Feliz would continue to do so.”

Tisch’s conclusion mirrors the decision of state Attorney General Letitia James, who declined to file criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence to prove Rivera’s use of force was unjustified beyond a reasonable doubt.

While police departmental trials require a lower standard of proof than criminal trials, the NYPD police commissioner has the final say over discipline.

Since the shooting, Rivera has been promoted to lieutenant.

Louis Turco, president of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, praised Tisch for the message she sent to NYPD officers.

“Our commissioner will back officers acting in good faith performance of their duties, no matter the political risks,” he said.

Early in her tenure as Mayor Eric Adams’ fourth police commissioner, Tisch signaled she would be tougher on police officers found guilty of misconduct. But this ruling has drawn sharp criticism from police accountability advocates.

Tess Weiner, a spokesperson for the advocacy group Justice Committee, said the Feliz family was outraged.

In a statement relayed by the Justice Committee, the Feliz family said, “Tisch’s decision sends a clear and terrifying message to officers that they can racially profile, abuse and kill people with absolute impunity — and they’ll be protected at the highest levels.”