Ramarley Graham, an 18-year-old Black male, was fatally shot by a New York City Police Department officer on February 2, 2012, in the Bronx. The incident began when officers from the NYPD's Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, who were surveilling a bodega, reported seeing Graham adjusting his waistband and suspected he had a gun. Believing he was armed, the officers followed Graham as he walked to his grandmother's apartment building.
Surveillance footage showed Graham calmly entering the
building. Moments later, two officers, with guns drawn, ran up to the locked front door. After gaining entry through the rear of the building, officers went to the apartment where Graham was. Without a warrant, an officer kicked down the apartment door. Plainclothes officer Richard Haste then entered the apartment and found Graham in the bathroom, attempting to flush a bag of marijuana down the toilet. Haste shot Graham once in the chest in front of his grandmother and six-year-old brother. No weapon was ever recovered from the scene. Graham was taken to a nearby medical center where he was pronounced dead.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Richard Haste was charged with manslaughter in June 2012, but the indictment was dismissed by a judge due to a prosecutorial error in instructing the grand jury. In 2013, a second grand jury declined to re-indict Haste on any criminal charges. Federal prosecutors also declined to file civil rights charges against the officer. The city of New York settled a civil lawsuit with Ramarley Graham's family for $3.9 million in 2015.
An internal NYPD investigation and a departmental trial moved forward years later. In March 2017, Haste was found guilty on all administrative charges, with the trial commissioner recommending his termination. Before he could be fired, Richard Haste resigned from the NYPD. Two other officers who were on the scene, Sergeant Scott Morris and Officer John McLoughlin, also faced departmental charges. Morris was suspended for 30 days without pay before his resignation, and McLoughlin's case was also settled.
