An off-duty New York City police officer who authorities say shot and killed an unarmed man in a road-rage incident in July was indicted on a murder charge Monday by a Brooklyn grand jury.
The indictment, which follows an investigation by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, is the first case to be brought against a police officer since the governor appointed Mr. Schneiderman as special prosecutor of all alleged police killings of civilians.
Officer Wayne Isaacs, 37 years old, faces charges of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Delrawn Small, also 37. He was expected to be arraigned Tuesday and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top count.
Police said Officer Isaacs and Mr. Small got into a dispute while driving in Brooklyn on July 4.
Mr. Small believed the officer had cut him off as he was trying to turn onto Atlantic Avenue, according to a law-enforcement official. Mr. Small followed him for seven blocks before he got out of his car and ran up to the officer, who was stopped in his vehicle on Atlantic Avenue and Bradford Street, police said.
A surveillance-camera video of the incident appears to show a man approaching the vehicle’s window, then immediately stumbling back and collapsing.
Before the video emerged, police said Officer Isaacs shot the man three times in the shoulder and torso after Mr. Small punched him multiple times.
Officer Isaacs was initially placed on administrative leave and then moved to modified duty, surrendering his badge and gun, following the incident.
After his indictment Monday, Officer Isaacs was placed on unpaid leave for 30 days, a police official said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo tapped Mr. Schneiderman as special prosecutor for police-involved shootings in August 2015, citing a crisis in community trust of the criminal justice system.
The appointment came a little more than a year after the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in an encounter with police on Staten Island.
