“That’s how they work”, said Constance Malcolm, the grief stricken mother of Ramarley Graham after cops cheered the $50,000 bail of Officer Richard Haste, who was indicted on manslaughter charges Wednesday for shooting an unarmed Graham February 2.
Haste pleaded not guilty in the shooting death of the 18 year old Bronx teen. Once his bail was posted, Haste climbed into a waiting black sedan that drove away leaving protesters jeering and supporters cheering from the Patrolman’s Benevolent Association.
Even though the officer from the 43rd Precinct’s narcotics team, who came to court on crutches, faces up to 25 years in prison for his charges, he’ll be home for Father’s Day.
“Haste is going home to his family,” Franclot Graham said. “When we leave here we’re going to the cemetery. I keep asking why, why, why did he kill our son? Why did he kill our son?”
Police said narcotics officers spotted Graham on the street adjusting his waistband and thought he had a gun. When the officers approached, authorities said Graham took off running toward his home. Surveillance cameras captured Haste, who was undercover as part of the NYPD Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, running after Graham. He was chased into his home and when Graham tried to flush a bag of marijuana down the toilet, he was shot once in the chest by Haste, killing him.
As the boys in blue cheer one of their fellow officers, Graham family lawyer Jeffrey Edmin reminds us, “There’s nothing to cheer here. A young man lost his life and that is the man who took that life. It puts salt in the wounds.”
-ShaBe Allah(@KingPenStatus)
