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| The Police Killed My Unarmed Son in 2012. I’m Still Waiting for Justice. | The Police Killed My Unarmed Son in 2012. I’m Still Waiting for Justice. |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Five years ago today, my unarmed 18-year-old son, Ramarley Graham, was unjustly killed when police officers burst into our home in the Bronx and shot him in front of his grandmother and 6-year-old brother. | Five years ago today, my unarmed 18-year-old son, Ramarley Graham, was unjustly killed when police officers burst into our home in the Bronx and shot him in front of his grandmother and 6-year-old brother. |
| Minutes before, my son was calmly walking down the street with his friends when he paused to pull up his pants. The officers wrongly thought he had a gun in his waistband, followed him home, knocked down our door without cause or a warrant and killed him. | Minutes before, my son was calmly walking down the street with his friends when he paused to pull up his pants. The officers wrongly thought he had a gun in his waistband, followed him home, knocked down our door without cause or a warrant and killed him. |
| To this day, none of the officers responsible have been fired. | To this day, none of the officers responsible have been fired. |
| In fact, the officer who pulled the trigger, Richard Haste, still works for the Police Department, which paid him $94,000 last year. It has allowed him to accrue time in the department and enjoy the raises that go with that. Although he has been stripped of his gun and put on desk duty, his pay last year was $30,000 more than it was when he killed Ramarley in 2012. | In fact, the officer who pulled the trigger, Richard Haste, still works for the Police Department, which paid him $94,000 last year. It has allowed him to accrue time in the department and enjoy the raises that go with that. Although he has been stripped of his gun and put on desk duty, his pay last year was $30,000 more than it was when he killed Ramarley in 2012. |
| It was only last month that Officer Haste finally faced a department trial — a disciplinary process that grossly undercharged him for the extent of his misconduct. | It was only last month that Officer Haste finally faced a department trial — a disciplinary process that grossly undercharged him for the extent of his misconduct. |
| In a department trial, there is no jury, and the person who acts as the “judge” (in this case the department’s deputy commissioner of trials) writes a report with recommendations on whether there should be disciplinary action and what it should be. That report then goes to the police commissioner, who makes the final decision (which doesn’t have to match recommendations). This process can take months. | In a department trial, there is no jury, and the person who acts as the “judge” (in this case the department’s deputy commissioner of trials) writes a report with recommendations on whether there should be disciplinary action and what it should be. That report then goes to the police commissioner, who makes the final decision (which doesn’t have to match recommendations). This process can take months. |
| Although more than a dozen officers should be investigated and charged in my son’s killing and surrounding misconduct, the department has lodged internal charges against only two besides Officer Haste. It has not even scheduled department trials for them. | Although more than a dozen officers should be investigated and charged in my son’s killing and surrounding misconduct, the department has lodged internal charges against only two besides Officer Haste. It has not even scheduled department trials for them. |
| I was forced to take days off from work to sit in on the trial. I was not allowed to read the firearms discharge report from the night my son was killed or Officer Haste’s disciplinary record. And because my family was given so little notice of the proceeding, Ramarley’s father could not fly back from Jamaica in time to attend. | I was forced to take days off from work to sit in on the trial. I was not allowed to read the firearms discharge report from the night my son was killed or Officer Haste’s disciplinary record. And because my family was given so little notice of the proceeding, Ramarley’s father could not fly back from Jamaica in time to attend. |
| Officer Haste was indicted by a Bronx grand jury, but it was thrown out on a technicality. A second grand jury was convened but failed to indict him. The only measure of accountability left is for Officer Haste to be fired, following a departmental trial. If I had not waged a nonstop campaign, even this department trial probably wouldn’t have happened. That’s because New York City’s leadership has also failed to push for justice and now appears to be doing the bare minimum. | Officer Haste was indicted by a Bronx grand jury, but it was thrown out on a technicality. A second grand jury was convened but failed to indict him. The only measure of accountability left is for Officer Haste to be fired, following a departmental trial. If I had not waged a nonstop campaign, even this department trial probably wouldn’t have happened. That’s because New York City’s leadership has also failed to push for justice and now appears to be doing the bare minimum. |
| Mayor Bill de Blasio was quick to speak with my family and call for action on my son’s killing when he was running for mayor and wanted the votes of black and brown New Yorkers. Just days after Ramarley was killed, Mr. de Blasio said in a statement that “part of the healing process for the Graham family, and for the city as a whole, derives from a fair, speedy and transparent investigation. That work should begin immediately.” | Mayor Bill de Blasio was quick to speak with my family and call for action on my son’s killing when he was running for mayor and wanted the votes of black and brown New Yorkers. Just days after Ramarley was killed, Mr. de Blasio said in a statement that “part of the healing process for the Graham family, and for the city as a whole, derives from a fair, speedy and transparent investigation. That work should begin immediately.” |
| Now that he’s mayor, he has refused to meet with me or ensure any accountability that’s fair, speedy or transparent. His administration wouldn’t even provide me with basic information about the trial and charges against the officers. | Now that he’s mayor, he has refused to meet with me or ensure any accountability that’s fair, speedy or transparent. His administration wouldn’t even provide me with basic information about the trial and charges against the officers. |
| In addition, Mr. de Blasio recently claimed his administration has reformed policing to make the city safer and fairer. | In addition, Mr. de Blasio recently claimed his administration has reformed policing to make the city safer and fairer. |
| I wish this were true. | I wish this were true. |
| In New York City, crime statistics are lower and the overall number of reported stop-and-frisks is down. But black and Latino New Yorkers are still disproportionately stopped, and multiple Police Department audits show that around 64 percent of stops go unreported. This harassment continues even though more than 80 percent of stops don’t result in a summons or arrest. | In New York City, crime statistics are lower and the overall number of reported stop-and-frisks is down. But black and Latino New Yorkers are still disproportionately stopped, and multiple Police Department audits show that around 64 percent of stops go unreported. This harassment continues even though more than 80 percent of stops don’t result in a summons or arrest. |
| At the same time, there is no accountability for police abuses, which has allowed injustices like my son’s killing to go unpunished. Mr. de Blasio is either willfully ignoring racial disparities and Police Department abuses in our communities or has a shallow understanding of the problem. Either way, the harm continues. | At the same time, there is no accountability for police abuses, which has allowed injustices like my son’s killing to go unpunished. Mr. de Blasio is either willfully ignoring racial disparities and Police Department abuses in our communities or has a shallow understanding of the problem. Either way, the harm continues. |
| Across the country, we’ve made little real progress on police reform even though there is more national attention to the problem. That’s because the focus is on training, body cameras, police-community relations and neighborhood policing. The value of those reforms can be debated, but they are not much more than catchy sound bites. Nor are they solutions to the central problem: the lack of accountability for police officers who kill or for police departments that engage in brutality. | Across the country, we’ve made little real progress on police reform even though there is more national attention to the problem. That’s because the focus is on training, body cameras, police-community relations and neighborhood policing. The value of those reforms can be debated, but they are not much more than catchy sound bites. Nor are they solutions to the central problem: the lack of accountability for police officers who kill or for police departments that engage in brutality. |
| Officers don’t act as if they’re above the law in our communities because of their training or community relationships. Eric Garner knew some of the officers involved in his killing, because they had harassed him many times before without any consequences. | Officers don’t act as if they’re above the law in our communities because of their training or community relationships. Eric Garner knew some of the officers involved in his killing, because they had harassed him many times before without any consequences. |
| Mr. de Blasio exploits the rhetoric of social justice but is unwilling to make the changes to achieve it. He has done nothing to meaningfully fix the systemic accountability problems at the Police Department. | Mr. de Blasio exploits the rhetoric of social justice but is unwilling to make the changes to achieve it. He has done nothing to meaningfully fix the systemic accountability problems at the Police Department. |
| Worse, after decades of releasing personnel orders — transfers, promotions and disciplinary actions — the city recently began to claim that a state law requires it to keep those records secret. The problem is that the de Blasio administration has decided to interpret the law to withhold records that had been open to the public for many years. | Worse, after decades of releasing personnel orders — transfers, promotions and disciplinary actions — the city recently began to claim that a state law requires it to keep those records secret. The problem is that the de Blasio administration has decided to interpret the law to withhold records that had been open to the public for many years. |
| While the police have told me that my family will learn the outcome of Officer Haste’s trial, I have good reason not to trust their word. And that won’t help other grieving families who are seeking justice and transparency. I believe that the current administration is even worse than the Giuliani administration when it comes to police transparency. | |
| Leadership requires more than rhetoric — it comes from confronting police abuse with action. New York City must fire all the officers who engaged in misconduct in my son’s killing, and ensure the same for officers guilty of misconduct in all incidents of police abuse. These officers are not safe for our communities and need to be off our streets. | Leadership requires more than rhetoric — it comes from confronting police abuse with action. New York City must fire all the officers who engaged in misconduct in my son’s killing, and ensure the same for officers guilty of misconduct in all incidents of police abuse. These officers are not safe for our communities and need to be off our streets. |
| Until Mr. de Blasio and elected officials across the nation take that responsibility seriously, there will continue to be violence and unjust killings by the police, despite any number of body cameras, training sessions or cordial relationships between officers and civilians. | Until Mr. de Blasio and elected officials across the nation take that responsibility seriously, there will continue to be violence and unjust killings by the police, despite any number of body cameras, training sessions or cordial relationships between officers and civilians. |