Shooting of Ramarley Graham

The shooting of Ramarley Graham took place in the Bronx borough of New York City on February 2, 2012. Richard Haste, a New York Police Department officer, shot Graham in the bathroom of Graham's apartment. The officer alleged that Graham had been reaching for a gun in his waistband, but there were no witnesses.^[1] Haste was charged with manslaughter, but the charge was dropped. Graham's family filed a lawsuit against the city of New York, and the lawsuit was settled for $3.9 million in 2015.

Background

Ramarley Graham was an 18-year-old African-American teenager from the Bronx.^[2] Richard Haste is a police officer who worked in the NYPD's Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit.^[1]

Shooting

Graham was spotted by officers from the NYPD's Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit as he left a bodega on White Plains Road and East 228th Street on Thursday, February 2, 2012, at approximately 3:00 PM.^[3] The officers alleged that they witnessed Graham adjusting and tugging at his waistband, which they said led 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. There was no evidence that this statement was true.^[3] The officers claimed that they approached Graham when he left the building, identifying themselves as police officers and telling him not to move. Then, the officers stated in their official report, Graham started to run from them toward his home, a claim that was later retracted by police after surveillance footage showed Graham walking, not running. It is unclear whether Graham was aware that the officers were pursuing him when he reached his home.^[4]

After officers tried unsuccessfully to kick down the front door of the apartment building, two officers went to the back of the building, where they were let in by a first-floor tenant.^[3] They went to the door of Graham's apartment and proceeded to kick it in. According to the NYPD, 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. (The bag was recovered from the scene afterward.)^[4] Officer Haste stated that he then yelled, "Show me your hands" and "Gun! Gun!" before shooting Graham in his upper chest. He said later that he had thought Graham was reaching for a gun in his waistband.^[5]

Aftermath

Officer Haste was immediately placed on modified duty.^[3] He was charged with manslaughter four months later, in June 2012, and pleaded not guilty.^[6] Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett later vacated Haste's manslaughter indictment, ruling the prosecution had given the grand jury flawed instructions.^[7] He dismissed the indictment without prejudice and gave the district attorney the option to seek an indictment from another grand jury at a later date. The Bronx County 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]

Lawsuit

The lawsuit by Graham's family alleging civil rights violations by the NYPD was settled for $3.9 million in January 2015.^[9] Of that total, $2.95 million was given to Graham's estate, while Graham's brother received $500,000, his grandmother received $400,000, and his mother received $40,000.^[10]

References