A New York police officer who fatally shot unarmed teen Ramarley Graham during a 2012 chase, resigned Sunday after an internal disciplinary trial on Friday.
According to an NYPD statement, police officer Richard Haste quit after the NYPD trial commissioner “found him guilty on all counts and recommended his employment be terminated.”
NYPD Police Commissioner James O’Neill has “fully concurred with the findings and recommendations of the Trial Commissioner,” the statement reads.
Federal prosecutors closed their investigation in March 2016, saying there was insufficient evidence for a criminal civil rights case against Haste for the shooting.
In 2013, Haste pleaded not guilty to charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter for the February 2, 2012 shooting of 18-year-old Graham. A Bronx Supreme Court Judge later dismissed the manslaughter indictment against Haste. The judge had thrown out the case based on instructions given by the prosecution to the grand jury regarding communications among officers before the shooting.
The original indictment alleges that Haste acted “recklessly” and ultimately killed 18-year-old Graham while “acting with intent to cause serious physical injury … by shooting him.”
Graham, who was black, was fatally shot in the bathroom of his home by Haste after Graham ran to his home with officers in pursuit, prosecutors said. Graham’s family said he was shot as his grandmother and his 6-year-old brother looked on.
Haste told investigators that Graham had his hand in his waistband and believed Graham was reaching for a weapon, though prosecutors said no weapon was found at the scene. Haste fired one round that hit Graham in the chest.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio concurred with the NYPD disciplinary trial of Richard Haste stating on Facebook Sunday that it “ended with the right decision — termination.”
“Ramarley Graham was a son, a friend and, most importantly, a young man with his whole life left to live. Nothing can take away the profound pain left after his loss, but I hope the conclusion of this difficult process brings some measure of justice to those who loved him,” the Mayor said.
In 2015, the Graham family received a $3.9 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, Jeffrey Emdin, a lawyer representing the Graham family told CNN.
