NYC to Pay $3.9 Million to Family of Unarmed Teen Killed by Cop
The family of Ramarley Graham, the unarmed teenager shot and killed in his grandmother's bathroom by an NYPD officer in February 2012, has agreed to a $3.9 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit against the city, the New York Daily News reports.
Officer Richard Haste, 31, pursued Graham, 18, who was suspected of having participated in a drug deal, into his grandmother's apartment, with whom he lived. Haste confronted Graham in the bathroom before shooting him in the chest after he thought Graham was reaching for a gun. There was no gun.
A grand jury declined to re-indict Haste in August 2013 after a judge dismissed manslaughter charges on a legal technicality a few months before. An investigation by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office into possible civil rights violations in the case is ongoing.
Graham's estate, the Daily News reports, will receive $2.95 million. His mother, Constance Malcolm, will receive $40,000. His brother and grandmother, Patricia Hartley, will receive $500,000 and $450,000, respectively.
According to the suit, Haste threatened to shoot Hartley after he shot Graham in her bathroom. "Why did you shoot him? Why you killed him?" Hartley asked. "Get the fuck away before I have to shoot you, too," Haste allegedly said, before pushing her into a vase.
[Photo credit: AP Images]