Ramarley Graham’s Family Settles for $3.9M With New York City; Pledge to Pursue Justice

By Carla Murphy Feb 03, 2015

The family of Ramarley Graham, the unarmed 18-year-old killed by NYPD officer Richard Haste three years ago this week in his bathroom, has settled their wrongful death lawsuit for $3.9 million. Graham’s mother, Constance Malcolm reportedly told a Bronx church last night, "The settlement will never take away the pain that the city caused me." Malcolm, according to The Huffington Post, still keeps the white bath mat stained by her son’s blood on a bathroom shelf, as well as a stack of her son’s T-shirts folded neatly in a corner. The police killing of Graham in 2012 helped galvanize a city around stop-and-frisk reform.

Both Malcolm and father, Franclot Graham, are pledging to continue the fight for police accountability. Said the elder Graham:

"What’s justice for me? All the officers in that team be held accountable for their actions, for their lies, for their disregard of the law, for their disregard of human rights."

Officer Haste, the Daily News reports, does not contribute to the settlement, which comes as a federal investigation is exploring civil rights charges against Haste and other officers on scene that day. Following 2012 charges that had been thrown out by a judge, a second grand jury declined to indict Haste.

(h/t The Guardian)