It is a tragedy when a parent has to bury a teenage son who was shot and killed by a police officer. It is an even bigger travesty when justice does not prevail.
For the parents of Ramarley Graham, their pain, suffering and feelings of injustice were exacerbated when charges against Office Richard Haste, who killed their 18-year-old in his family’s apartment, were recently dropped.
Last week, elected officials, activists and supporters joined Graham’s mother, Constance Malcolm, at a rally and press conference outside the Bronx district attorney’s office to demand that a grand jury be reconvened.
“Today’s conversation is not about all the testimony that we have heard during this trial. We all know where the truth lies. Today, we are calling on District Attorney Robert Johnson to do what he was elected to do,” said Bronx City Council Member Andy King. “Listen to the voices of the people. We are not here for excuses. We are asking for action.”
Haste had been charged in the shooting, which occurred last February during a police drug operation in the Bronx. He and other officers chased Graham into the teen’s bathroom, where Graham was then shot at close range.
Bronx Judge Stephen Barrett said Assistant District Attorney Nancy Borko made a major mistake in the grand jury process when she gave the impression the jury shouldn’t consider testimony by other officers who warned Haste that Graham might have been armed.
Supporters at the rally, like Loyda Colon, a representative of the Justice Committee, said that this is not an isolated case. Too often, the district attorney does a poor job when investigating and prosecuting police officers who have killed New Yorkers. The cases of Shantel Davis, Jayson Tirado, Renaldo Cuevas and Iman Morales, along with the acquittal of the officers in the Sean Bell case, are examples of this.
“I am here to say that it is not OK for the NYPD to continue to kill New Yorkers,” said Colon. “A phone call to Ramarley Graham’s parents is not good enough. We demand that the district attorney publicly announce a new date for this case to go before the grand jury.”
According to Malcolm, Johnson declined to speak at the press conference but told her that he would convene a new grand jury in three weeks. “Three weeks doesn’t mean anything to me until we get a date. We want another indictment,” Malcolm told the AmNews. “The evidence is not going to change, it’s still there.”
Malcolm added that she would not just continue to fight for justice for Graham, but also for her 7-year-old son and all of the children in her community to protect them from police brutality.
“Police brutality is being pushed under the rug. If we don’t stand up and let the world know that we are not going to take it anymore, this could happen to other children. This is not just happening in New York. This is happening all over the world,” Malcolm continued. “This incident happened in my house–no warrant. You mean to tell me that we are not even safe in our own houses anymore? He came into my house and murdered my son in front of my mother and my 7 year-old.”
Francelot Graham, Ramarley Graham’s father, has become an outspoken critic of stop-and-frisk since his son’s death. He has attended vigils in East Flatbush for Kimani Gray, who was shot and killed by police on March 9. The parent advocates also recently attended a “Stop the Violence” dinner to show support for the family of slain corrections officer and retired Marine Kenneth Chamberlain, who was shot and killed by police when they responded to a LifeAid medical alert system.
“When you have an incident where police use excessive deadly force, it seems like there is no accountability,” said Malcolm. “The police act like judge, jury and executioner.”
In a statement from Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, “The judge’s ruling was the right one. We believe the judge made a difficult but correct decision,” Lynch said. By the time the Amsterdam News went to press this week, no one from the Bronx district attorney’s office was available for comment.