Big decisions loom for new NYPD commissioner Tisch on disciplining police misconduct

Just one NYPD officer has ever been fired for misconduct from a Civilian Complaint Review Board investigation (CCRB), according to the independent oversight agency. Will that change with new police commissioner Jessica Tisch, who was appointed just over a week ago on Nov. 20? 

Several crucial cases will soon reach Tisch’s desk, according to a CCRB source; while the agency independently investigates and substantiates police misconduct allegations, the NYPD commissioner gets final say on implementing the substantiated discipline. While fireable allegations are substantiated by the CCRB, the police rulebook is what the commissioner uses to actually identifies and enforces the disciplinary measures, not the Board. 

Lt. Jonathan Rivera, who killed Washington Heights man Allan Feliz during a Bronx traffic stop, faces possible termination after an ongoing disciplinary trial over the past month. NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado will soon come to a decision on the case, which will be reviewed by Tisch, who will ultimately decide if Rivera keeps his job. 

“This is a huge test for her,” said Yul-san Liem, a director at the Justice Committee, which works with victims of police violence. “People who care about police accountability, which is everybody, are going to be watching to see what she does in the Lt. Rivera case. She could be like all the predecessors, and just feed into this pattern with corruption and impunity in the NYPD, or she can make the right decision and the just decisions.”

The CCRB also substantiated allegations against NYPD officer Derek Bernard over shooting Bronx man Raul de la Cruz during a mental health response, which could lead to his firing. However, the determination might change after the NYPD filed a reconsideration request, according to CCRB spokesperson Clare Platt. 

Tisch will also set the stage for how officers are disciplined for racial bias, which the CCRB began investigating in 2022 through a new unit headed by Darius Charney, a civil rights lawyer who famously took on the NYPD for racial profiling and unconstitutional stop-and-frisks. The first trial for a substantiated complaint on racially biased-based policing will occur later this month, although exact details are not publicly available. 

For de la Cruz, he sees accountability as the officers leaving the force. He experiences schizophrenia and speaks primarily Spanish. His father sought help for him by calling 311, but told the dispatchers about a knife. An armed police response arrived, with a language barrier. His lawyers say his gunshot wounds were life-threatening. 

“I’m not good — I don’t sleep well, I have panic attacks, and I can’t sleep,” de la Cruz said over email. “I still have a surgery I need to get done. I have a hernia in my stomach, they said my muscles in my abdomen are still open. I have limited movement. I can’t walk right, and I use a cane. I felt really physically healthy before. Now I’m sick.”

Samy Feliz remembers his brother Allan Feliz as his role model. He shudders at the thought of Rivera still carrying a gun. The deadly police encounter, which started with an allegedly erroneous seatbelt stop and ended with Allan Feliz half-naked with gunshot wounds on the ground, occurred more than five years ago, but NYPD delays pushed back the disciplinary trial until recently, even as the CCRB substantiated fireable charges last May. 

“We have to explain to his son what was it that happened to him and why he shouldn’t fear officers,” said Samy. “Because every time he gets a reminder that he looks like his father, he feels like he’s going to be targeted by police.”

This past September, ProPublica reported the NYPD, under Tisch’s predecessor Edward Caban, buried more than 400 complaints investigated and substantiated by the CCRB this year. Notably, the officers who fatally shot Black New Yorker Kawaski Trawick in his apartment were not disciplined under Caban, who ultimately resigned in September after federal agents raided his home. 

But while Caban boasted a deep career in an NYPD uniform and direct relationships with line-level officers, Tisch worked largely on the tech side of city governance, with her decade-plus in the NYPD on the civilian side. In fact, the two bring nearly polar opposite resumes: Caban began his career patrolling the South Bronx. Tisch is a billionaire heiress with an Ivy League education. But none of that matters for the families of de la Cruz and Feliz — only that accountability is met.

Since her appointment, Tisch has largely talked about continuing her work modernizing the department’s operations. The NYPD did not respond to requests for how the new commissioner would approach officer misconduct. 

Ruth Lowenkron, who directs the Disability Justice Program for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which represents de la Cruz, remains unsure about Tisch’s stance on the CCRB but feels optimistic about her track record with disability rights. 

“When she was involved in the Department of Technology in city government, we worked with her in the context of making 911 accessible to people with hearing impairments,” said Lowenkron. “And she made that a priority to ensure that we could call when you can and text when you can’t. So we were very pleased working with her, and we have the highest of hopes as she comes on as commissioner.” 

For Lowenkron, a vocal proponent for removing police from mental health responses, de la Cruz’s complaint is a byproduct of a bigger issue. So while correcting police conduct remains the key issue, she sees it impossible for the NYPD to properly respond to such situations without arriving unequipped to handle medical issues and potentially escalating the conflict. 

Samy remains skeptical about accountability for his brother’s death, even with Tisch replacing Caban.  

“We want the police commissioner Tisch to understand that this is a pivotal moment for her, where New Yorkers don’t feel safe because of officers like Lieutenant Rivera being on this police force,” said Samy. “The only way that you can prove [it] to us is by firing officers like Rivera. Until that step into the right direction is shown, where transparency is shown and these cops are actually held accountable for their wrongdoings, that’s when New Yorkers are going to feel a little bit safer with the process.”Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

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