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$500K Bail Set for NYPD Officer Charged With Road-Rage Murder

By Camille Bautista | September 27, 2016 2:37pm
 NYPD officer Wayne Isaacs, center, was arraigned Tuesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court for the July 4 shooting death of Delrawn Small. A justice ordered him to be held on $500,000 bail bond and to wear an ankle bracelet.
NYPD officer Wayne Isaacs, center, was arraigned Tuesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court for the July 4 shooting death of Delrawn Small. A justice ordered him to be held on $500,000 bail bond and to wear an ankle bracelet.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BROOKLYN — An off-duty NYPD officer charged with murder for the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in East New York was given $500,000 bail Tuesday and ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet.

Wayne Isaacs stood handcuffed before a Brooklyn judge on charges of murder and manslaughter for the death of 37-year-old Delrawn Small, who was gunned down during a July 4 road-rage fight.

His attorney, Stephen Worth, pleaded not guilty on his behalf.

The indictment marks the first case under State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office where a police officer has been charged for killing an unarmed civilian.

Supreme Court Justice Alexander Jeong ordered Isaacs to be held on $500,000 bail bond or $350,000 cash bail, and told him he'd have to wear an ankle bracelet.

Prosecutor Joshua Gradinger from the attorney general’s office initially argued for $1 million cash bail along with a request for Schneiderman’s office to monitor Isaacs’ whereabouts and limit his travel.

“What we have before us, your honor, is a brutal, deliberate act wherein this defendant fired not one, not two, but three shots from a 9mm semi-automatic handgun into a completely unarmed man as he approached his car, with absolutely no legal justification,” Gradinger said, adding that it was “an extraordinarily strong case” with video evidence.

Video from the incident shows Small leaving his car on Atlantic Avenue at Bradford Street and walking to Isaacs' vehicle. The off-duty police officer, who was leaving a shift from the 79th Precinct, appears to shoot Small almost immediately.

Right after the shooting, Isaacs told police and EMT workers, “He kept hitting me. My lip. My lip,” according to court documents.

He also told EMT workers “I was assaulted” and that he was “attacked,” records show.

Isaacs’ attorney called the $500,000 bail bond “nothing short of outrageous," comparing the case to that of Officer Peter Liang, who was released on his own recognizance.

Liang was found guilty for the 2014 fatal shooting of unarmed man Akai Gurley in an East New York stairwell and was given a no-jail sentence.

“I believe the comparison between this case and Officer Liang’s case is really not something that is analogous,” Jeong said.

“But this charge, the people are charging an intentional murder, who they say was an unarmed man,” the judge continued as he set the bail.

Cheers erupted from Small’s relatives and his widow, Wenona Small, wiped tears from her eyes in the courtroom following the announcement.

In addition to the bail, Isaacs is ordered to surrender his United States and Guyanese passports and any firearms he may possess.

The attorney general’s office is in possession of the murder weapon as well as Isaacs' service weapon, prosecutors said.

Gradinger added that Isaacs “has ties to another country” and had “a strong incentive now to flee.”

Isaacs’ attorney argued that there was no reason to assume his client would not return to court.

“He has a stake in the community, he has a stake in his job and he has absolutely no reason to leave,” Worth said.

The attorney requested he be freed and given 48 hours to post bail, which Jeong denied, deeming Isaacs a “flight risk.” He was placed in protective custody.

Isaacs is still employed with the NYPD as of Tuesday, according to Worth.

He remains on modified assignment, according to an NYPD spokesperson, and will be suspended.

“The people of the city of New York are still paying a murderer. This is an outrage,” said Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matters New York.

“People should not be paid for slaying, they should not be rewarded for killing unarmed innocent black men. He shot Delrawn Small three times, as a result he died, as a result a family grieves, a city mourns, and he still has a paycheck. It’s obscene.”

Newsome accompanied Small’s widow and her attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, who is representing her in a wrongful-death action.

“I want justice. I want him to be held accountable for the murder of my husband,” Wenona Small said.

She added that it would be “excruciatingly painful” to see Isaacs in court but that she would be there for every appearance. 

Small’s girlfriend, Zaquanna Albert, and brother were also present for the hearing.

Following the arraignment, Isaacs’ attorney called the shooting death an “unfortunate circumstance,” but said the video showed Small approached the off-duty officer “in an aggressive manner.”

“The question becomes, is the officer supposed to sit there and get punched or stabbed or shot, because how does he know what the individual has?” Worth said, adding that he expects Isaacs to be acquitted.

“No reasonable person would have any choice given his situation.”

Isaacs faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top charge.