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New York • A police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man who approached his vehicle was charged on Monday, his attorney said.
A grand jury voted to indict Officer Wayne Isaacs on murder and manslaughter charges, defense attorney Stephen Worth confirmed. Isaacs will appear in court on Tuesday, Worth said.
Isaacs was behind the wheel of his car on July 4 when he shot Delrawn Small, who had approached his vehicle at a Brooklyn street stoplight. Small's girlfriend said Small thought he was cut off by Issacs, who was off duty.
Initially, police said Small had punched Isaacs before the gunfire erupted. But a security camera video that surfaced later cast doubt on that account by appearing to show Small getting shot the instant he reached the officer's car.
A spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which brought the case, declined to comment.
Last year, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the attorney general authority to investigate fatal police encounters in an effort to avoid perceived conflicts of interest between local district attorneys and police.