Bronx Teen's Mother Demands New Charges Against Officer Who Killed Him
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The mother of Ramarley Graham – the unarmed 18-year-old boy who was shot and killed by an NYPD officer – held a rally Wednesday demanding new charges against the officer who fired the shots.
As 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported, Constance Malcolm said the Bronx District Attorney's Office has assured her the case against the officer who shot and killed her son will go to a grand jury again in three weeks.
But Malcolm said that really is not good enough. She wants to know precisely what date it will be set again.
Bronx Teen's Mother Demands New Charges Against Officer Who Killed Him
"I want to go in court and face Richard Haste, to ask him why he murdered my son," Malcolm said. "My son didn't have a gun."
Last month, Bronx Judge Steven Barrett dropped charges against Haste after finding that prosecutors gave flawed instructions to the grand jury that indicted Officer Haste. He pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges last year in connection with the death of 18-year-old Graham.
"We believe that inadvertently, the district attorney's instructions did mislead the jury, and did so to an extent that I cannot in good conscience disregard," Barrett said.
The Bronx DA has issued a statement neither confirming nor denying what his next step might be in terms of new charges.
"The case involving the death of Ramarley Graham has been and remains to be a most important matter in the eyes of this office," the office said in a statement Wednesday. "We are hoping to be able to make our next public statement regarding the case by mid-summer. Until that time we will continue to communicate with Ramarley Graham's family."
Graham was shot and killed in the bathroom of his Bronx home on Feb. 2, 2012, after police said narcotics officers spotted him on the street adjusting his waistband and thought he had a gun.
Police said officers confronted Graham in his bathroom as he tried to flush marijuana down the toilet. Moments later, Graham was shot in the chest, collapsed and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police said they believed the teen was armed with a gun, but a gun was never recovered. Graham's family said the teen's grandmother and 6-year-old brother were inside the house at the time of the shooting.
Haste's lawyer, Stuart London, has said his client yelled "show me your hands" and "police" and reiterated that other officers had radioed that Graham was armed.
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