Late on Friday July 3rd, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch issued a preliminary decision to reverse the guilty verdict against Lieutenant Jonathan Rivera for killing Allan Feliz. SURJ NYC's Beyond Policing Working Group issued the following statement:
For the past five years, the family of Allan Feliz, while deeply mourning the death of Allan, has fought for the bare minimum of accountability—fire Jonathan Rivera. It’s the very least Commissioner Tisch can do after Lieutenant Rivera recklessly attacked and shot their son, brother, father and partner. And now the Commissioner is reversing the decision to terminate Rivera? Commissioner Tisch’s cynical reversal of her own Deputy Commissioner’s decision regarding the charges against Lieutenant Rivera is a blatant disregard for public safety and appears to be a transparent attempt to curry favor with the NYPD. It makes a mockery of her supposed commitment to accountability. Tisch’s own Deputy Commissioner Maldonado found Lt. Rivera acted in clear disregard of the law in killing Allan Feliz and recommended he be fired. We call on Commissioner Tisch to reverse this decision and fire Lieutenant Rivera.
In spite of how it’s been portrayed, this is a preliminary decision by PC Tisch. The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) has five business days to respond before she makes a final decision. This means we have until Friday, July 11th to make sure she knows NYC is demanding she #FireJonathanRivera!