Saturday, Feb. 2 marked one year since New York Police Department Officer Richard Haste kicked down the locked door of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham’s home and killed the teen in front of his grandmother and 6-year-old brother.
His mother, Constance Malcolm, said that she still cringes when she remembers the day she received the call at work to come home because something terrible happened. She stated that it is “an experience [she] would never wish for any parent.”
Malcolm still recalls the “outpouring of support [she] received from people near and far” and asks for the support of the community again. “The anger I bear will never go away,” she said.
On Saturday, Graham supporters gathered in front of 749 E. 229th St. in the Bronx, the house Malcolm’s son once lived in. They held a candlelight vigil then marched to the 47th Precinct, where Haste was assigned. The day concluded with a march to the church where Graham was given his final send-off and a prayer service.
Malcolm explained, “The death of my son by a police officer will bring a lot of changes to the way police conduct their job, and Richard Haste will constantly be reminded of the vibrant, bright and loving young man he ripped from my arms.” But there still is need for a call to action. Haste was charged with manslaughter for Graham’s murder. However, other members of his team that were involved in the questionable entry of Graham’s apartment have not been charged.
Malcolm urges supporters to spread the word because “people are still in the dark about what happened.”