[Gothamist] NYPD judge recommends firing of officer in 2019 Bronx civilian killing

An NYPD judge is recommending the termination of an officer who shot a man in the chest in a traffic stop in 2019, marking only the second time that a departmental judge has followed a police watchdog agency's recommendation to fire an officer.

At a departmental trial, the city’s police watchdogs argued that Lt. Jonathan Rivera needlessly shot Allan Feliz when Feliz tried to flee a traffic stop in the Bronx. The watchdog agency found last year that Rivera violated patrol guidelines and put himself and Feliz in danger.

The last time an NYPD judge agreed with the recommendation to fire an officer for improper use of force was in 2019, when Daniel Pantaleo was found to have used an improper choke hold that killed Eric Garner in 2014. The decision now rests with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who could decide in the next several weeks or months whether to terminate Rivera or exonerate him.

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