Solved case · 2012
Also known as Ramarley Graham's shooting · Ramarley Graham's murder
The short answer
On February 2, 2012, NYPD officer Richard Haste fatally shot 18-year-old Ramarley Graham in the bathroom of his family's Bronx apartment after chasing him inside without a warrant. No weapon was found; a manslaughter charge against Haste was later dropped, and the city settled a civil suit with Graham's family for $3. 9 million.
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Suggest coverage for Killing of Ramarley GrahamOn February 2, 2012, in the Bronx borough of New York City, 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was fatally shot by New York Police Department officer Richard Haste inside the bathroom of the apartment Graham shared with his grandmother. Graham, who was Jamaica-born and the son of Constance Malcolm and Franclot Graham, had been seen by officers from the NYPD's Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit (SNEU) leaving a bodega on White Plains Road and East 228th Street at approximately 3:00 p.m. Officers alleged they saw Graham adjusting a gun in his waistband and reported seeing the "butt of a gun." No gun was ever recovered from Graham or the scene.
Officers said they identified themselves and told Graham not to move, and claimed in their official report that he ran toward his home. However, video evidence showed Graham walking casually into his home while officers followed. Haste, without permission and without a warrant, forced his way into the building, kicked down the front door, and pursued Graham inside. Graham had gone into the bathroom and was attempting to flush a small amount of marijuana wrapped in foil down the toilet when Haste broke into the bathroom and shot him multiple times in front of his grandmother. There was no confrontation or struggle. Graham was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Montefiore Medical Center.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed Haste smiling and laughing with responding officers and detectives afterward — the same officers who later testified they had told Haste that Graham had a gun. Haste was placed on modified duty immediately and was charged with manslaughter in June 2012, to which he pleaded not guilty. Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett later vacated the manslaughter indictment, ruling that prosecutors had given the grand jury flawed instructions; the indictment was dismissed without prejudice. On the day the charges were dismissed, rows of NYPD officers lined the courthouse steps and applauded Haste as he exited, in view of Graham's family. In 2013, the Bronx County District Attorney's office presented the case to a second grand jury, which declined to re-indict Haste.
The NYPD's Firearms Discharge Review Board found the shooting to be within department guidelines. However, a separate internal disciplinary review in 2017 concluded that Haste had used "poor tactical judgment" and recommended his dismissal. Haste was informed of this determination on March 24, 2017, and resigned two days later rather than be terminated.
Graham's family filed a civil rights lawsuit against the NYPD, which the City of New York settled for $3.9 million in January 2015. Of that amount, $2.95 million went to Graham's estate, $500,000 to his brother, $400,000 to his grandmother, and $40,000 to his mother.
NYPD officer Richard Haste shoots and kills 18-year-old Ramarley Graham in the bathroom of Graham's Bronx apartment after pursuing him inside without permission; no weapon is found.
Haste is charged with manslaughter and pleads not guilty.
A second grand jury, presented with the case by the Bronx County District Attorney's office, declines to re-indict Haste on manslaughter charges.
The City of New York settles a civil rights lawsuit with Graham's family for $3.9 million.
Haste is informed of an internal NYPD disciplinary determination that he used poor tactical judgment, recommending his dismissal.
Haste submits his resignation from the NYPD rather than face termination.
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Image recordCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenBathgate Avenue and East 183rd Street, Belmont, Bronx · 2010s
On June 20, 2018, 15-year-old Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz was chased and killed by members of the Trinitarios gang outside a Bronx bodega after being mistaken for a rival gang member. The attack was captured on video and sparked widespread public outrage; five men were later convicted of his murder.
Image recordEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenWheeler Avenue, Soundview, Bronx, New York City · 1990s
On February 4, 1999, 23-year-old unarmed Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo was shot 19 times by four plainclothes NYPD officers in the Bronx. The officers were charged with second-degree murder and acquitted at trial in 2000, sparking major protests over police brutality and racial profiling.
Credit: Associated Press (1963 press photo)Public domainSourceOVERTURNEDListenAudubon Ballroom, Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City · 1960s
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was shot and killed at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Three Nation of Islam members were convicted in 1966; two of them, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, were exonerated in 2021 after a reinvestigation.
Fulton neighborhood alley, Minneapolis, Minnesota · 2017
Justine Damond, a 40-year-old Australian-American woman, was fatally shot by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor in July 2017 after she called 911 to report a possible assault near her home. Noor was later convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter; the murder conviction was later overturned on appeal, and he was resentenced to a shorter term.
Credit: Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United StatesCC BY-SA 2.0SourceSOLVEDListenFort Worth, Texas · 2019
Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot by Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean through her bedroom window during a welfare/open-structure check in the early morning of October 12, 2019. Dean was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.
SOLVEDListenCudell Recreation Center, Cleveland, Ohio · 2014
On November 22, 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann while holding an airsoft replica gun at Cudell Recreation Center; a grand jury declined to indict either officer involved, and the city later settled a wrongful-death lawsuit with Rice's family for $6 million.
