Gothamist – by Christopher Robbins
A judge has dismissed the indictment against the NYPD officer who shot and killed an unarmed teen in his Bronx home last year. The dismissal was for a technicality, as the Bronx DA’s office erroneously instructed members of the grand jury that they did not have to consider if Officer Richard Haste’s colleagues informed him that 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was armed.
“With no great pleasure, I am obliged in this case to dismiss the charges,” Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett said as he made his decision, according to DNAinfo.
Graham’s mother Constance Malcolm had to be removed from the courtroom after the judge announced his decision. Video from NY1 shows Malcolm screaming, “He killed my child! What more can you do to me?”
A protest was immediately held outside the courthouse, and Frank Graham, father of Ramarley Graham, declared, “If it means going back to the grand jury or if we have to ask the federal court to deal with this case; we are going to keep fighting no matter what. Where ever it leads us we will go there. We will never stop until justice is served in this case, until Richard Haste goes to prison for murdering our son. If we start over, we will start stronger!”
“It cannot be said more forcefully that we disagree with the court,” a spokesman for the perpetually embattled Bronx DA’s office said in a statement, adding that they would decide whether to appeal the decision or to re-file against Haste.
Graham was killed in February of 2012, when officers allegedly observed him buying drugs and followed him home. Surveillance video shows Haste and other officers kicking down the door to Graham’s apartment complex to gain entry. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said that Haste found Graham in his bathroom, where he was dumping a small amount of marijuana into the toilet. Kelly said that Haste yelled “Show me your hands! Gun! Gun!” before fatally shooting Graham once.
Haste, who had been an NYPD officer for four years at the time of the shooting, pled not guilty to first and second degree manslaughter almost a year ago.
You can read a memorandum submitted by the Bronx DA’s office outlining why they disagree with the judge’s decision below. The judge has yet to release his written decision in the case.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
http://gothamist.com/2013/05/15/indictment_against_cop_who_killed_u.php
Of course. No one expects a cop to be punished for murder. They’re getting rid of “trouble-makers” for the NWO, so there’s always going to be an excuse to put a good killer back out on the streets.
But don’t expect that same “technicality” to stand in the way of you being thrown in jail.
“a small amount of marijuana” is what they followed him HOME for…
boy i’m glad i live in B.C., although it’s been coming here more and more ever since the Dziekanski sacrifice
I’ve been to the Amsterdam Cafe, back in ’05. Still have a t-shirt from there.
Cop murders an innocent and gets … off. What a surprise. When do the rest of us get treated like that? or is it just for the police state ?
The tide will turn. It always does. Nuclear rain falls on the just and the unjust equally. They spit in our Father’s face. Payback is a motherphuccer. They don’t find human relics in coal from coal mines by chance. The nuklar bombs are all that’s left. If it weren’t for the Lord cutting short the days of tribulation, not even the elect would survive.