Trial Begins For NYPD Officer Accused Of Brooklyn Road Rage Killing
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - An NYPD officer was on trial Monday, accused of shooting a Brooklyn man dead in a deadly road rage confrontation.
Wayne Isaacs is charged with second degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Delrawn Small.
Isaacs had just gotten off work and was off duty when he shot Small during a confrontation on July 4, 2016 in Cypress Hills.
Video surfaced last year that showed Small getting out of his car and approaching the driver's side of Isaac's car at a red light on Atlantic Avenue in East New York shortly after midnight that morning.
Small was shot in the chest, abdomen and arm. Video shows small stumbling and collapsing after being shot.
Isaacs said he acted in self-defense after Small punched him.
Defense attorneys said in court Monday "this is a self-defense case," CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported.
But Small's sister, Victoria Davis, did not agree.
"Delrawn had the right to live," she said. "Delrawn was an unarmed man who was killed unjustly."
The crux of the case centers around the grainy surveillance video of the deadly confrontation. After Small approaches Officer Isaacs' personal car, he appears to stumble and collapse after being shot by Isaacs in front of his own children.
The fact that Isaacs shot Small is not in dispute. But what led to it all is.
Prosecutors said of Officer Isaacs, "The defendant pulled out his gun and pulled the trigger three times and killed Mr. Smalls in the blink on an eye."
But defense attorneys argued that Smalls was angry and legally intoxicated, and said he attacked Isaacs – punching him in the face before the officer pulled the trigger in self-defense.
"He was assaulted," said defense attorney Stephen Worth. "Because of the assault on him, he fired his weapon the number of times officers fire -- a three-shot burst."
Prosecutors deny Smalls was drunk, and say Isaacs never identified himself as a police officer.
Winona Small, Delrawn's widow, was in court for the proceedings. She has previously filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
"I am here today to support my husband. I want Wayne Isaacs to be held accountable for the murder of my husband," she said. "I want justice."
"I'm torn down. Now the realization is hitting me that we're going to sit in a trial and relive everything again," said Small's brother Victor Dempsey. "This is probably the worst day I've had."
Isaacs is the first NYPD officer to be tried under an executive order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that gave the Attorney General the power to investigate and prosecute such cases.
If convicted on the murder charge, Officer Isaacs could face 25 years to life in prison.
