NY AG Letitia James says the NYPD should STOP making routine traffic stops following investigation into cop-involved killing of a Bronx motorist

New York's attorney general says the NYPD should stop making routine traffic stops in order to prevent encounters like one last year that ended with an officer fatally shooting a motorist.

Attorney General Letitia James, who acts as a special prosecutor appointed to investigate certain police killings, made the argument in a report handed down Friday regarding the October 17, 2019 death of Bronx man Allan Feliz. 

Feliz was shot in the chest by NYPD Sgt. Jonathan Rivera after he was pulled over for a seat belt violation.  

James says traffic stops for minor infractions often end in violence, and the death of Feliz 'underscores the need for change'. 

James' office concluded that the NYPD's use of deadly force was justified in their encounter with Feliz, but that the sequence of events would never have happened if police hadn't stopped him in the first place. 

The NYPD has declined to comment. 

 New York's Attorney General Letitia James says the NYPD should stop making routine traffic stops in order to prevent violent encounters with civilians 

 Feliz, 31, - was pulled over by police in the Bronx neighborhood of Bedford Park around 3pm on October 17.

He initially complied when asked to get out of his car, but he quickly jumped back in and tried to flee, James' office said in the report.

Bronx man Allan Feliz, 31, was shot dead by an NYPD officer after he attempted to flee the scene after he was pulled over for a seat belt violation last October

Sgt.  Rivera then fired a stun gun at Feliz and climbed into the car, warning, 'Yo, boss, I am going to f**king  shoot you,' as Feliz shifted the vehicle into gear and began moving. 

Rivera shot Feliz once in the chest, killing him.

James' office concluded Rivera was justified in shooting Feliz in part because he feared the vehicle's movement was endangering another officer standing nearby.  

'The officer´s alleged justification is a fairy tale,' said Robert Vilensky, a lawyer for the Feliz family, which is suing the NYPD. 

'The car which they say was moving was at best moving 2 mph. That wouldn't knock over a fly.

'The justification is a made-up story to rationalize killing an unmarked civilian,' Vilensky added. 

The NYPD has a separate unit of personnel who are not officers but direct traffic and hand out parking tickets - but who also have limited interaction with the public. 

James' recommendation is aimed at officers who stop people for things like speeding, seat belt infractions and other issues.

A heavy police presence is pictured at the scene of the fatal shooting of Allan Feliz in the Bronx last October

If police officers are to remain involved in traffic enforcement, James' office said, the police department should drop a policy that encourages officers to arrest any motorist who is found to have an open warrant.

When Feliz was pulled over, police allegedly heightened tensions by attempting to arrest him on outstanding warrants for low-level offenses such as spitting, littering and disorderly conduct.

Instead, the report said, drivers with open warrants should be arrested only with a supervisor's approval if an officer had reasonable cause to believe they were a danger to the community.

'It is highly unlikely that the incident involving Mr. Feliz ... would have escalated in the manner it did in the absence of this automatic arrest policy,' James' office wrote.

Members of the NYPD regularly make routine traffic stops to book motorists for speeding, seat belt violations and other offences. They did not respond to James' recommendation