"A state judge heard arguments in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday in a case that could set a precedent on whether people outside the NYPD have legal standing to challenge disciplinary decisions by the police commissioner. The May 14 hearing comes in a suit filed by family members of Allan Feliz, a man who was shot and killed by NYPD Lt. Jonathan Rivera during a 2019 traffic stop in the Bronx. His family argues the court should find that Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch's 2025 decision to ignore a ruling in a disciplinary hearing recommending Rivera be fired for using excessive force and assaulting Feliz was incorrect, and order Rivera fired."
"“The city is creating a standing standard in this case that essentially would mean police commissioner decisions cannot be reviewed outside of the NYPD,” said Samah Sisay, an attorney for Feliz's family. “No third party would be able to seek review of a decision, and that's just not the law.” While city attorney Robyn Rothman argued that Feliz's family's suit should be dismissed because the general public should not be able to challenge the commissioner's disciplinary decisions and the family's alleged harm came from Feliz's death, not from Tisch's decision not to fire Rivera, Sissay said Feliz's family is specifically harmed by the commissioner's choice to keep Rivera on the force, making them able to challenge the decision."
"“It is a bit strange that [the city] says loved ones whose family member was killed by an individual do not have any vested interest in seeing that individual disciplined by the department,” Sisay told the judge. “For over half a decade, the [NYPD] is creating its own standing principles to insulate the police commissioner from judicial review.” Julie Aquino, Allan Feliz's partner and mother of his child, fell into deep depression and wasn't able to focus on work or eat properly after Tisch's decision, and lives in fear of Rivera hurting them with his power as an active member of the NYPD, Sissay said."
A Manhattan Supreme Court hearing addresses whether people outside the NYPD can legally challenge police commissioner disciplinary decisions. The case is brought by family members of Allan Feliz, who was shot and killed by an NYPD lieutenant during a 2019 traffic stop in the Bronx. The family argues that the police commissioner’s 2025 decision to ignore a disciplinary hearing recommendation to fire the lieutenant was incorrect and should result in the lieutenant being fired. The family contends the city’s proposed standing standard would prevent third parties from seeking review and would insulate commissioner decisions from judicial oversight. The city argues the suit should be dismissed because the public cannot challenge disciplinary decisions and the alleged harm stems from the death, not the commissioner’s choice not to fire. The family describes ongoing depression, fear, and harm tied to the commissioner’s decision to keep the officer active.
Read at www.amny.com
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