New York police officer Wayne Isaacs, who killed Delrawn Small during a road rage incident last July, has been acquitted of murder and first-degree manslaughter.
Isaacs and Small were reportedly involved in a confrontation stemming from road rage. An unarmed Small exited his vehicle to approach Isaacs, who was off-duty at the time, when Isaacs shot and killed him.
The officer claimed self-defense in the Brooklyn killing. Police were initially under the impression Isaacs shot Small after being punched by him but video evidence countered that allegation.
At that point, I thought I was going to lose my life,” Isaacs told the jury. “Delrawn Small struck me; that’s the only reason I had to stop the threat of losing my life.”
“You could tell he was upset with me. At that time of the night, in that area of East New York, you know, I thought maybe he recognized me from a previous arrest or was a carjacking,” Isaac said. “Could tell he was in a rage coming at me.”
“We are devastated and outraged that the jury failed to ensure justice by not holding NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs accountable,” Small’s siblings said in a statement.
“Our society must confront the problematic issues related to race and power that lead grand juries and juries to fail to hold officers fully accountable when they kill people of color,” she said.
