They demand the mayor fire police officers involved in an incident in which a Dominican died
NEW YORK.- The relatives of Happy Allan, 31-year-old, who died last year in the middle of an incident with members of the NYPDheld a demonstration in front of the mayor’s office on Monday to demand that the officers involved be held accountable before the courts.
Other relatives of New Yorkers who have died while in the custody of the NYPD and several elected officials, including the Ombudsman, Jumaane Williams, They joined the protest.
The event in which Feliz was killed occurred on October 17 inside his vehicle on Avenida Bainbridgenear 211 street around 3:00 in the afternoon in The Bronx.
According to the background of the case, Feliz, of Dominican origin, was arrested along with his companion at a routine traffic stop for allegedly not wearing seat belts. When the officers asked Feliz to get out of the vehicle, he reportedly resisted and a confrontation ensued in which one of the police officers, Sgt. Jonathan Rivera He fired his weapon, fatally striking him in the chest.
The other uniformed officers who intervened in the incident were identified as Edward Barrett y Michele Almanzar. Both Sergeant Rivera and Officer Almanzar are also of Dominican origin.
“A year ago, Allan was racially identified and pulled over for an alleged traffic violation he did not commit, which the arresting officers admitted once they got to his car,” said Samy Feliz, the victim’s brother. “The operation would have ended without consequence, but the two-minute interaction with Sgt. Jonathan Rivera and Officers Edward Barrett and Michelle Almanzar ended with Allan being shot dead.”
Two days after the first anniversary of his death, family members remembered Allan Feliz as an active member of the community and a loving father.
“Today the family demands Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD Commissioner Dermot Sheathat they fire the officers involved in the murder of Allan and get the killer cops out of our communities,” added Samy Feliz.
The NYPD should not intervene in traffic control
At the end of September the New York State Attorney General Letitia Jamesrecommended that the NYPD not intervene in routine traffic control actions, a radical change that, according to her, would avoid incidents like the one that ended the life of Allan James Feliz.
James, who is serving as a special prosecutor appointed to investigate certain cases of police violence, argued that traffic stops for minor offenses often end in violence.
“Allan was full of life and always had a smile on his face,” said Ashley Verdeja, sister of Allan Feliz. “He was the one who brought our family together. He had just had his first child and we want to make sure little Eli knows that his father deserves justice.”
The family maintains that Feliz was unarmed and that the NYPD officers should not have used deadly force.
Loyda Colón, co-director of the Justice Committee For his part, he commented that it is outrageous that Mayor de Blasio is forcing another family to take to the streets to demand responsibility for the death of their loved one and making New York taxpayers shell out tens of thousands of dollars to continue paying the salaries of the officers who killed Allan Feliz.
“Officers who start with an unfair traffic stop and turn it into a homicide are a threat to public safety and have no business patrolling our communities. Mayor de Blasio must ensure that Rivera, Barrett and Almanzar are fired immediately,” Colón added.
Advocates criticized the de Blasio administration for failing to once again hold accountable the officers who have wrongfully claimed the lives of New Yorkers.
