The killer cop Richard Haste
The family and supporters of Ramarley Graham the Black Bronx teenager who was followed into his home and shot and killed by a White police officer have denounced the decision by the Justice Department not to file charges in the case.
“I am extremely disappointed and can see no logic in law or reason why the U.S. Attorney’s office would not proceed with a grand jury in the case of an unarmed young man killed in the bathroom of his own house when there was absolutely no threat to officers,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, the President and founder of the National Action Network, said. “This is a very painful decision for the family and the public at-large.
“I gave the eulogy at Ramarley Graham’s funeral and pledged to stand with the family then, and National Action Network will continue to stand with them now as they pursue justice. I join the family in calling for the immediate termination of these officers from the force; they are a clear and present danger to all citizens.”
An anti-police brutality civil rights organization also claimed that New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner William Bratton had lied about the reasons why he hadn’t taken any departmental action against the officers involved in killing Graham, including the one who shot him, Richard Haste.
The group called for the immediate dismissal of Haste and other officers involved.
Haste who followed Graham, then 18, into the bathroom of his and shot him claimed he thought the teenager had a gun because his hand was near his waist.
Loyda Colon, the co-director of Justice Committee said: “Today the Department of Justice and Obama Administration failed to uphold equal justice, failed the family of Ramarley Graham, and failed the nation. US Attorney Preet Bharara’s decision not to convene a grand jury for the 2012 NYPD killing of Ramarley Graham is an outrage, is inconsistent with the facts, and shows that the federal government doesn’t value Back lives.”
“In a meeting between Graham’s parents, the Justice Committee, Communities United for Police Reform, Bharara and his staff early today we learned not only of the failures of the federal government, but also of failure and deceit on the part of the City Administration and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton,” Colon added.
“Bratton recently told New York City Council members that US Attorney Preet Bharara’s office had asked him not to move forward with bringing departmental charges against Richard Haste or any of the additional officers responsible for Grahams death. Today Bharara confirmed definitively that this was not the case. It appears that the Commissioner is so unwilling to take swift action to hold officers who unjustly kill New Yorkers accountable that he has resorted to deceiving the City Council. By not forcing Bratton to bring charges against these officers, Mayor de Blasio has been complicit in the deceit. We are demanding in the strongest terms that Commission Bratton immediately fire all officers responsible for Graham’s death, and that Mayor de Blasio does everything within his power to make sure that he does.”
The Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., also criticized the decision by the Justice Department, saying: “I am deeply saddened and extremely shocked by today’s news of the failure of the United States Department of Justice to convene a grand jury in the case of NYPD Officer Richard Haste, the police officer responsible for the death of Ramarley Graham. My heart goes out to the Graham families, who have now seen their quest for justice for their son twice denied.”
Diaz added: “After today’s announcement, we must share in the family’s frustration, having to relive this tragedy four years since Ramarley Graham’s life was taken away from him. This latest development is an outrage. At a time when the issue of police-community relations has been at the forefront of American discourse—especially the treatment of minorities by those charged to protect and serve them—the U.S. Attorney’s office has failed to set an example for our nation.Given what we know about the facts of this case, how could they not have convened a grand jury? The U.S. Attorney owes our community a real explanation.”
