Families of Allan Feliz and Delrawn Small Spend Father's Day Remembering Fathers Killed by NYPD Officers

NEW YORK — Zaiden Small and Eli Feliz spent Father's Day honoring fathers they barely had the chance to know, using the occasion to urge New York City leaders to remove the NYPD officers involved in the deaths of Delrawn Small and Allan Feliz.

Storm forecasts forced organizers to cancel a planned June 22 demonstration outside City Hall, but the families carried their message directly to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch through public statements. As reported by New York Amsterdam News, they renewed calls for accountability and the dismissal of the officers connected to both fatal shootings.

Delrawn Small was fatally shot by off-duty NYPD Officer Wayne Isaacs on July 4, 2016, in front of his then-4-month-old son, Zaiden. Isaacs remains employed by the department after previously standing trial on murder charges brought by the New York Attorney General's Office before his acquittal.

Now 10 years old, Zaiden said he has spent his childhood learning about his father through stories, photographs and family memories instead of the chance to know his father firsthand. "I never got to know my dad. I had to learn about him through stories, photos, videos, and memories my family shared," Zaiden recounted.

Zaiden said the absence follows him through school events, football games, birthdays and graduations, especially when classmates arrive with their fathers. "My dad should be alive. No kids should have to learn to live without their dad," the child pleaded.

Police killed Allan Feliz during a 2019 traffic stop only months after the birth of his son, Eli. An NYPD disciplinary proceeding later concluded Lt. Jonathan Rivera violated department guidelines, yet Commissioner Jessica Tisch declined to dismiss him despite that finding, prompting the family to file an Article 78 petition.

Eli Feliz and his older sister, Kilsi Polanco, also described the lasting void left by Allan Feliz's death. "I miss my dad," Eli said, while Polanco recalled losing the man she considered her father at age 15 and urged city leaders to ensure other children are not forced to endure the same loss.