WAKEFIELD - The family of a Bronx teenager gunned down by police in 2012, agreed to a $3.9 million settlement with the city Friday, officials said.
Ramarley Graham’s estate will receive $2.95 million and other family members including his brother, grandmother and mother will the get the remaining $990,000.
The settlement comes in the midst of an open civil rights investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office into the killing.
“No amount of money or settlement will bring back Ramarley. We want NYPD officer Richard Haste and all other officers who were present and responsible held accountable. They should be charged and prosecuted for murdering our son," Constance Malcolm, Ramarley Graham’s mother, said in a statement released Monday morning.
On Feb. 2, 2012, police officers chased 18-year-old Graham from White Plains Road and East 228th Street to his 749 E. 229th St. home in Wakefield because the officers who were investigating a drug deal thought Graham had a gun on him.
Officer Richard Haste followed Graham into his home and fatally shot him in his bathroom. No weapon was ever recovered.
“This was a tragic case,” said a spokesman for the city’s Law Department in a statement. “After evaluating all the facts, and consulting with key stakeholders such as the NYPD, it was determined that settling the matter was in the best interest of the City.”
Haste was indicted for manslaughter by a Bronx jury in May 2014, but the judge dismissed the case on a technicality. In August that year, Haste testified before a second grand jury that declined to indict him.
"Haste and others responsible should be removed from the police force and punished for their crime. We won’t rest until we get justice for Ramarley. We call on U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to prosecute Haste and others to the fullest extent of the law,” said Malcolm.
The NYPD and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association could not be reached for comment.
— With reporting by Jeff Mays
