Ramarley Graham killed by NYPD officer

[Muhti]

The family of Ramarley Graham, the unarmed Bronx 18-year-old shot and killed by an NYPD officer in February, says they will hold rallies and marches every Thursday for 18 weeks to demand justice, CBS reports.

“We’re not waiting patiently. We will be here this Thursday, next Thursday and Thursdays beyond that until we see some type of movement,” the family's attorney Royce Russell said to a large crowd of supporters at a rally Thursday.


Graham’s father, Franclot Graham, said “there’s not a day [that] goes by that I don’t cry," adding, “All we want for our son is justice.”

Security footage from the February incident shows Ramarley Graham entering his grandmother's home and police following him shortly thereafter. Cops said they had witnessed Graham participate in a drug deal and thought he had a gun. They illegally entered the home without a search warrant.

Inside the home Graham went into the bathroom, where he may have been trying to flush some marijuana down the toilet, when Officer Richard Haste--now on restrictive duty while Internal affairs investigates the incident--fired one shot and killed the teen.

Graham did not have a gun.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, whose department initially said there had been a struggle with Graham before the gun fired (there was not), later met with the family to express his sympathies.

The DA's office has convened a grand jury to determine whether charges should be brought against the cops involved in the incident.

Traditionally high tensions between the Bronx black community and the NYPD have continued to escalate since Ramarley's death. At a rally shortly after the tragedy where protesters chanted, "NYPD: KKK," Ramarley's sister, Leona Virgo, told reporters, "This is not just about Ramarley. This is about all young black men."

Many have attributed Ramarley's death to the NYPD's aggressive "stop-and-frisk" progam, which disproportionately targets low-income minority neighborhoods, and to the NYPD's penchant for arresting low-level marijuana offenders. In 2011, the NYPD stopped and frisked more than 500,000 New Yorkers, 87 percent of them black or Latino.

Meanwhile in Florida, outrage continues over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, another unarmed black teen, shot to death by self-appointed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. The Sanford Police Chief has stepped down over his handling of Trayvon's case. No charges have been made against Zimmerman.

On a Facebook page called, "Justice For Ramarley Graham, assassinated by Police in the Bronx!", there are numerous posts regarding Trayvon Martin.

SOURCE: Huffington Post (New York News)

Another (DEBATEABLE) innocent person dead from the cops. Oh boy, if I cant trust cops, who can I trust?

 

[Master Xanthan]

If the guy had drugs, I wouldn't call him innocent. But if he was truly unarmed (no gun, no knives, anything), then shooting the guy wasn't the solution.

 

[rinisan]

Who said we should trust the cops?

 

[Muhti]

Who said we should trust the cops?

Theyre supposed to protect us,look at Trayvon Martin, he wasnt doing anything and he got shot.

 

[Claire Diviner]

Theyre supposed to protect us,look at Trayvon Martin, he wasnt doing anything and he got shot.

That case is different though, as George Zimmerman wasn't a cop. He was a neighborhood watch coordinator.

 

[Muhti]

That case is different though, as George Zimmerman wasn't a cop. He was a neighborhood watch coordinator.

I was told he was a cop..... Hmph, looks like Ive been lied to.

 

[Claire Diviner]

Maybe not a lie more so than a misinterpretation.

 

[ThaRealSKWEEZY]

Yo homeys **** like dis b y i hav so much trubble trustin fiveoh

i meen i can rel8 sumtimes u doin things not strictly speekin legal an nex thing u kno u gettin treeted 2 excessiv fors. Ther a way 2 handul evry indeviduel an violens is almost nevr tha ansa.

Esp gun violens on a unarmed teen yo!!

 

[Luigitoilet]

That case is different though, as George Zimmerman wasn't a cop. He was a neighborhood watch coordinator.

That case is not so different as you imply, as the Sanford Police department flat out did not do their jobs in that case. Do you forget that it took over a month of media frenzy for George Zimmerman to even get detained and charged with anything? By all means, he was going to get away with murder because of an inept and biased police department.

Zimmerman was in school for some law degree when the shooting took place. Maybe that's where the confusion came from. He was on his way to becoming a police officer. Can't really say he would be too out of place, either.

 

[Claire Diviner]

That case is not so different as you imply, as the Sanford Police department flat out did not do their jobs in that case. Do you forget that it took over a month of media frenzy for George Zimmerman to even get detained and charged with anything? By all means, he was going to get away with murder because of an inept and biased police department.

Zimmerman was in school for some law degree when the shooting took place. Maybe that's where the confusion came from. He was on his way to becoming a police officer. Can't really say he would be too out of place, either.

Well, in that sense, no the case isn't all that different when one adds the ignorance of the police force into the Trayvon case. I was, however, saying that it wasn't a cop that shot Trayvon, though I suppose in hindsight, it makes no difference as the authorities are facing hot water in both cases.

 

[ThaRealSKWEEZY]

i think wat we gota do is reserv judgmint on tha five-oh in nypd (other den tha 1 dat shot tha kid obviusly) until we c how dey gona handul tha case. dat wack zimmerman **** was just sum chubby racist maw****a chasin down sum poor black homey 4 no reesin an den killin im, even if he wanted 2 b a cop or w/e - popo incompitens after tha **** went down is wen u can start judgin tha cops in dat case

in dis case u got a fully lisensd cop doin it up an its a lil diffrint. givin how much PR got dropp'd on zimmerman an his corupt homeys nypd mite handul it betta. mayb not but i hope so, god damn!!

 

[rinisan]

i think wat we gota do is reserv judgmint on tha five-oh in nypd (other den tha 1 dat shot tha kid obviusly) until we c how dey gona handul tha case. dat wack zimmerman **** was just sum chubby racist maw****a chasin down sum poor black homey 4 no reesin an den killin im, even if he wanted 2 b a cop or w/e - popo incompitens after tha **** went down is wen u can start judgin tha cops in dat case

in dis case u got a fully lisensd cop doin it up an its a lil diffrint. givin how much PR got dropp'd on zimmerman an his corupt homeys nypd mite handul it betta. mayb not but i hope so, god damn!!

Yo homeys **** like dis b y i hav so much trubble trustin fiveoh

i meen i can rel8 sumtimes u doin things not strictly speekin legal an nex thing u kno u gettin treeted 2 excessiv fors. Ther a way 2 handul evry indeviduel an violens is almost nevr tha ansa.

Esp gun violens on a unarmed teen yo!!

Amen!!!...............