Grand jury will not re-indict officer that killed unarmed, Brooklyn teen Ramarley Graham
NBC NEW YORK - A grand jury has decided not re-indict an NYPD officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in his Bronx home last year...
A grand jury has decided not re-indict an NYPD officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in his Bronx home last year.
Officer Richard Haste was indicted last summer on manslaughter charges in the death of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham. Haste pursued Graham into his apartment and shot him in the bathroom. He said he believed the teen was armed.
The initial charges were dropped in May. The judge said prosecutors had improperly left the grand jury with the impression it should not consider testimony by other officers, who had said they radioed Haste to warn him they thought Graham was armed.
Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said in a statement Thursday he was “surprised and shocked” by the grand jury’s finding. He also said he believed the judge’s decision to dismiss the initial indictment had been “overly cautious.”
At the time of the judge’s decision, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association said in a statement on Haste’s behalf that it supported the move.
Supporters of Graham and his family planned a rally for Thursday afternoon.
Graham was shot in the chest in the second-floor bathroom of his home on East 229th Street after police chased him inside.
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