BY Rocco Parascandola
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — The Bronx cop who shot dead a motorist during a contentious car stop six years ago acted within department guidelines, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has decided.
The family of Allan Feliz , 31, has repeatedly called for the firing of Lt. Jonathan Rivera in the wake of the October 2019 incident.
And in February, the case seemed to move in that direction when NYPD trial judge Deputy Commissioner Rosemarie Maldonado found Rivera guilty of first-degree assault and recommended he be fired.
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But Tisch, who has the final word on all disciplinary matters, disagreed, laying out her explanation in a nine-page decision that supported Rivera’s contention that he was justified in shooting because he believed his partner was in danger of being run over.
“I am convinced that [Officer Rivera] shot Mr. Feliz because he believed that doing so was necessary to save Officer Barrett’s life,” Tisch said in her decision.
Feliz was originally pulled over near Woodlawn Cemetery by Rivera and two other officers, Edward Barrett and Michelle Almanzar , for not wearing a seat belt, according to police.
The driver’s license Feliz provided actually belonged to his brother Sammy, who had three minor warrants — for spitting, littering and disorderly conduct — according to police. At that point, the officers reportedly asked him to step out of the car so they could pat him down, but Feliz tried to drive away in his Volkswagen , as Barrett tried to pull him out of the car.
Rivera fired his Taser at Feliz, then got into the Volkswagen and threatened to shoot the suspect with his handgun, and a physical struggle ensued. Meanwhile Barrett was still trying to yank Feliz out of the vehicle.
Moments later, as the car lurched forward, Rivera shot Feliz.
Rivera had argued that he believed Feliz was about to run over Barrett.
A year after the shooting, New York State Attorney General Letitia James cleared Rivera of criminal culpability, but raised questions about police tactics, noting that an officer should not threaten to shoot someone before such an action would be justified.
Lou Turco , head of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association , said the commissioner’s decision “sends a clear and decisive message to the members of the NYPD who risk their lives every day that our commissioner will back officers acting in good-faith performance of their duties, no matter the political risks.”
In a statement, Feliz’s family slammed Tisch’s verdict.
“We are furious and devastated by Commissioner Tisch’s outrageous, cowardly and shameful decision to overturn Deputy Commissioner Maldondo’s guilty verdict and refusal to fire or, in any way discipline, Lt. Jonathan Rivera for killing Allan,” they said. “With this reversal, Tisch has made one thing unmistakably clear: Her allegiance is not to the people of New York , but to violent, unaccountable cops who terrorize our communities…
“To have come this far only for the police commissioner to spit in the face of justice by capriciously and dangerously flipping Maldonado’s ruling is heartbreaking.”
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