On Sunday night, the police officer who in 2012 killed unarmed teen Ramarley Graham in his own home resigned rather than being fired, and when Graham’s mother heard the news, she reamed the mayor for it.
Constance Malcolm, after hearing that Officer Richard Haste had resigned, said that the mayor and police commissioner “should be ashamed of themselves.”
“Mayor de Blasio has once again shown his unwillingness to hold police accountable to our communities with his administration giving deference to Richard Haste in allowing him to resign,” Malcolm said in a statement. “This is not accountability after de Blasio and the NYPD dragged their feet for years, especially while all the other officers involved in the killing of my son continue to be employed by the department, enjoying pay raises every year.”
–Video shows Ramarley Graham carried away after police shooting–
Haste shot Graham on Feb. 2, 2012, after chasing Graham into his home, believing that he had a gun. However, no gun was ever found.
In June 2012, a grand jury indicted Haste, but a judge threw it out on a technicality, and a second grand jury declined to indict him.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill had intended to fire Haste after he was found guilty on Friday of departmental charges that he “exercised poor tactical judgment leading up to the discharge of his firearm” and “acted with intent to cause serious physical injury leading to the death” of Graham. Rather than be fired, Haste walked into the police station on his day off and turned in his resignation.
“Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner O’Neill should be ashamed of themselves, and must immediately fire all of the officers responsible for my son’s killing, not more schemes like this allowing them to resign,” Malcolm said.