Haste, the man who killed unarmed Ramarley Graham
[Announcement]
The NYPD departmental trial of Officer Richard Haste who on February 2, 2012, killed unarmed 18-year-old Ramarley Graham is on Tuesday, January 17, at 10 AM and is expected to last all day.
The trial is open to the public and there will be a press conference by the family during the lunch break. The trial is at 1 Police Plaza, Lower Manhattan, on the 4th floor and the press conference will occur outside.
Ramarley Graham was shot and killed in front of his grandmother and 6-year-old brother by NYPD Officer Richard Haste.
Haste and several other NYPD officers burst into the family’s home without a warrant, killed Graham, and engaged in misconduct and abuses of his family. Yet after five years, none of the officers responsible for killing Ramarley and abusing his family have been held accountable.
Haste remains a police officer in the NYPD and has received tens of thousands of dollars in increased earnings since killing Ramarley – he made $30,000 more in 2016 than he did in the year he shot Ramarley –received over $94,000 in pay in 2016. It’s an egregious example of the lack of police accountability that allows police abuses and killings to continue in communities of color.
There were over 12 officers involved in the unlawful entry to the home, threatening, assaulting and mistreating Graham’s family members after the killing, unlawfully leaking information unauthorized for public release, and disseminating false information about the incident.
The identities of many officers involved have been concealed by the NYPD and there have been conflicting reports in media about which officers are facing charges and for what misconduct. The de Blasio administration has not provided Graham’s family with basic information in response to repeated letters and requests hand-delivered to City Hall, forcing them to file a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request that remains unanswered by the de Blasio administration.
Even as Haste and his attorney know what charges he will be facing on Tuesday, the family has not been provided with similar information about charges. Haste was among multiple officers who engaged in unlawful entry of the family’s home and he shoved and threatened to shoot Ramarley’s grandmother at gunpoint after he shot and killed her grandson.
Additionally, the de Blasio administration’s decision to reinterpret state law 50-a to conceal disciplinary decisions threatens to leave the Graham family and the public at risk of never learning the outcome of the proceedings for Officer Haste or any other officers.
The administration reversed the policy of the preceding administrations of both political parties over the past four decades in releasing this rather basic information, claiming state law as an excuse despite previous administrations being subject to the same law and not using it to conceal such information.
In attendance will be: Constance Malcolm, mother of Ramarley Graham; Franclot Graham, father of Ramarley Graham; Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Hawa Bah, mother of Mohamed Bah; Margarita Rosario, mother of Anthony Rosario and Aunt of Hilton Vega; Hertencia Petersen, Aunt of Akai Gurley;Joshua Lopez, nephew of John Collado;Council Member Andy King; Kirsten John Foy, Northeast Regional Director of National Action Network; Communities United for Police Reform; Justice Committee; Brooklyn Movement Center; NAACP LDF; MomsRising; Center for Constitutional Rights; Jews for Racial & Economic Justice; Showing Up for Racial Justice; and, Community members and New Yorkers.
