BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Shooting of Ramarley Graham
| BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY |
Ramarley Graham
| |
| Time | 3:00 PM (UTC-05:00) |
|---|---|
| Date | February 2, 2012 |
| Location | The Bronx, New York City |
| Type | Police shooting of civilian |
| Deaths | 1 (Ramarley Graham) |
| Accused | Richard Haste |
| Charges | Manslaughter |
| Verdict | Charges dropped |
| Litigation | $3.9 million lawsuit settled against city of New York |
The Shooting of Ramarley Graham took place in the New York City borough of The Bronx, New York, United States, on February 2, 2012, when Richard Haste, an NYPD officer, shot Ramarley, an unarmed black teenager, in the bathroom of his apartment, thinking that he was reaching for a gun in his waistband.[1] Haste was charged with manslaughter, but the charge was dropped. Graham's family filed a lawsuit against the city of New York, and were settled $3.9 million in 2015.
Background
Ramarley Graham was an 18 year old African-American teenager from the Bronx. Graham had a previous criminal record consisting of gun and burglary charges.[2]
Richard Haste was an NYPD officer who worked in the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit. Haste had a clean record in the NYPD prior to this incident.[1]
Shooting
Graham was spotted by officers from the NYPD's Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit as he left a bodega on Whiteplains Road and East 228th Street on Thursday, February 2, 2012 in the afternoon, at approximately 3:00 PM.[3] The officers witnessed graham adjusting and tugging at his waistband, which they said lead them to believe he was carrying a gun.[4] The officers then began to follow Graham as he left the bodega and went into an apartment building, reporting over their radio that they saw the "butt of a gun" on the teen.[3] They then approached Graham when he left the building, identifying themselves as police officers and telling him not to move. The officers then claimed after this that Graham started to run from them towards his home, a claim that was later retracted by police after surveillance footage showed Graham walking, not running, into his home.[4] The officers then tried unsuccessfully to kick down the front door of the apartment building to get in, an event that was captured on surveillance footage. After their attempt was unsuccessful, two of the officers went to the back of the building, where they were let in by a first-floor tenant.[3] They then went to the door of Graham's apartment, and proceeded to kick it in. Graham and the officers spotted each other and Graham ran into a bathroom, where he allegedly tried to flush a small bag of marijuana down the toilet (which was recovered from the scene after shooting).[4] Haste then yelled "Show me your hands" and "Gun! Gun!" and then shot Graham point-blank in his upper chest, saying that he thought Graham was reaching for a gun in his waistband.[5]
Aftermath
After the shooting, Officer Richard Haste was immediately placed on modified duty.[3] He was charged with manslaughter in Ramarley's death four months later in June 2012, and pleaded not guilty.[6]
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett later tossed out Haste's manslaughter indictment on a technicality, saying that the prosecution gave the grand jury flawed instructions.[7] He dismissed the indictment without prejudice, and gave the prosecution the opportunity to seek an indictment from another grand jury at a later date.
The Bronx District Attorney's office presented evidence before another grand jury in 2013, but the grand jury declined to re-indict Haste on charges of manslaughter.[8]
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