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Cop who killed unarmed Bronx teen walks free

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:13:00 +0000

The NYPD officer who shot dead Bronx teen Ramarley Graham walked free this week, as a judge dropped manslaughter charges against him due to procedural mistakes. Former officer Richard Haste shot the 18-year-old in his grandmother's bathroom. Initial police reports claiming the teen had a gun swiftly came under scrutiny when no weapons were found at the scene. Graham's death bolstered anti-NYPD sentiment in New York and added fervor to campaigns against stop-and-frisk practices.

However, as Ryan Devereaux reported for the Guardian, the case against Haste was dismissed as "Bronx supreme court justice Steven L Barrett said the Bronx district attorney's office failed to properly instruct members of a grand jury in considering allegations against officer Richard Haste for his role in the death."

Via the Guardian:

Possible legal errors in Ramarley Graham case

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:45:00 +0000

According to Ryan Devereaux in the Guardian, the judge presiding over the case against the police officer who shot dead Bronx teen Ramarley Graham is "officially concerned" that legal errors occurred prior to the indictment of former NYPD officer Richard Haste.

Judge Steven Barrett expressed concern having reviewed the minutes of the grand jury proceedings that led to Haste's indictment. In an incident that helped fuel widespread anti-NYPD sentiment and bolstered the movement challenging stop and frisk, Graham was shot dead in his grandmother's Bronx bathroom. Police reports that Graham had been armed were challenged when no weapon was found at the scene. Haste has pleaded not guilty to charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter.

As Devereaux reported, Judge Barrett's concern resides in the fact that grand jurors, who moved to indict Haste, "may have received erroneous instructions during their consideration of the case." Via the Guardian:

Family of teen shot dead by NYPD pursue lawsuit

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:20:00 +0000

Another lawsuit has been filed to take aim at the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy. In this particular suit, anger toward the police practice and its effects is born of personal tragedy. The family of Ramarley Graham, an unarmed teenager who was shot dead in his Bronx bathroom by police exactly one year ago, are suing the police, accusing the department of poor officer training and disproportionately targeting minority youths with stops.

Writing in the Guardian, Ryan Devereaux details the contents of the Graham family lawsuit:

At over 100 pages in length, the Graham family lawsuit paints a picture of a chaotic scene the afternoon Ramarley was killed. It alleges that after forcing his way into the Graham home, Haste shot the unarmed teenager in the chest in his bathroom, as his six-year-old brother and 58-year-old grandmother, Patricia Hartley, looked on.

"Why did you shoot him, why you killed him?" Hartley cried out after Haste fired, the suit claims. "Get the fuck away before I have to shoot you, too," Haste is said to have replied as he shoved Graham's 85-pound grandmother into a vase, the suit alleges.