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Justice Dept. to Review NYPD Killing of Ramarley Graham

HeadlineAug 09, 2013

The Justice Department has announced it will review the case of Ramarley Graham, the unarmed 18-year-old who was shot dead inside his own home by a New York City police officer last year. On Wednesday, a grand jury failed to indict the narcotics officer who fatally shot Graham. Officer Richard Haste was initially indicted for manslaughter, but a judge reluctantly threw out the indictment in May on procedural grounds. Ramarley Graham’s father Frank Graham spoke Thursday outside the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

Frank Graham: “Richard Haste is able to go back and do his job and maybe kill again. And we have to ask ourselves this question: Had Ramarley been white, would this have happened? Would they have run into a white person’s home? We don’t want to talk about racism in America. But why not? We need the system to change. As our attorney says, we need a special prosecutor to deal with this type of case. We cannot trust the DA’s office, who works so close with the NYPD to prosecute them. I don’t think it will ever change as long as they are prosecuting these police. We need real changes.”

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