Ramarley Graham

Ramarley Graham, 18, an unarmed Black teenager, was shot once in the chest and killed by New York City Police Officer Richard Haste on February 2, 2012, in the bathroom of his grandmother's Bronx home. Haste, a member of the NYPD's Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, had followed Graham into the building after officers said they saw him tugging at what they believed was a gun in his waistband; no gun was ever found, and Graham was flushing a small amount of marijuana down the toilet. Haste was indicted on manslaughter charges in 2012, but a judge dismissed the indictment in May 2013 over flawed grand jury instructions, a second grand jury declined to re-indict him in August 2013, and federal prosecutors found insufficient evidence to bring civil rights charges in 2016. Haste resigned in March 2017, two days after an NYPD trial commissioner recommended he be fired. He has never stood trial.

Bronx, NY · Bronx County

• 2012: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The shooting, the state and federal reviews, and the NYPD disciplinary outcome, per reporting by ABC7 New York, CBS New York, and the public record of the proceedings.
• On February 2, 2012, around 3 p.m., officers from the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit pursued Graham; officers said they saw him tugging at a gun in his waistband, but no gun was recovered. Video showed Graham walking into his grandmother's home, and Haste followed him inside.
• Graham ran to the bathroom and was flushing a small amount of marijuana wrapped in foil when Haste shot him once; he died in front of his grandmother and, according to ABC7, his six-year-old brother.
• Haste said he fired because he mistakenly believed Graham was reaching for a gun; the NYPD's firearms discharge review board ruled the shooting justified but found that Haste had not used proper tactics.
• A grand jury indicted Haste on manslaughter charges in June 2012; in May 2013 Justice Steven Barrett vacated the indictment, ruling prosecutors had improperly instructed grand jurors to disregard testimony from officers who had warned Haste that Graham might be armed.
• A second grand jury declined to re-indict Haste on August 8, 2013.
• In January 2015 New York City settled the family's civil rights suit for $3.9 million.
• On March 8, 2016, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced there was insufficient evidence to pursue federal civil rights charges; officials said the probe found nothing that undercut Haste's account, and no witness accounts or physical evidence materially contradicted his claim that he believed Graham was reaching for a gun.
• After the federal review, an NYPD department trial commissioner found Haste guilty on all disciplinary counts and on March 24, 2017 recommended termination; Police Commissioner O'Neill concurred, and Haste resigned on March 26, 2017 before he could be fired.
• Graham's mother, Constance Malcolm, said Haste “should have been in prison” and criticized the city for allowing him to resign; Haste had remained on the force on modified duty with union-guaranteed raises throughout the years of review.

• Whether Haste could reasonably have believed Graham was armed, given that no gun was recovered but other officers had warned Haste that Graham might be, was never tested at a criminal trial, because the case ended before one occurred.
• What the second grand jury heard, and why it declined to re-indict, is secret under New York law and has not been made public.
• Whether the NYPD's own trial finding that Haste's conduct warranted termination bears on the criminal question has never been addressed in any court.

• ABC7 New York — “Justice Department finds insufficient evidence for federal charges in Ramarley Graham case”
• CBS New York — “NYPD Officer Who Shot And Killed Ramarley Graham Resigns”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs