Will There Be Justice for NYPD Victim Ramarley Graham?

At around 3 pm on a Thursday afternoon in February 2012, 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was leaving a Bronx bodega with his friends, when he was followed by members of the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit of the 47th Precinct of the New York Police Department. Footage from his home’s surveillance camera shows that Ramarley approached the door of his house, in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, unlocked it and walked inside. An officer then ran to the door, followed by another, gun drawn, and tried to kick it in without success. Multiple officers swarmed the house, entering through the back without a warrant and letting others in through the front.

Ramarley Graham, Unarmed Black Teen Slain by NYPD, Remembered at Weekly Vigils Outside Bronx Home

Today a Democracy Now! special on the life and death of Ramarley Graham, a teenager who was shot dead by a New York City police officer inside his own bathroom in the Bronx on February 2nd. Graham, 18, was shot at close range after narcotics detectives barged into his home. New York police officer Richard Haste was indicted on manslaughter charges for the fatal shooting last week. At a weekly vigil held by the Graham family outside their home, we hear from Ramarley’s older sister, Leona Virgo, and his father, Frank Graham.

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Ramarley Graham, Unarmed Teen, Illegally Killed By New York Police, Lawyer Says

NEW YORK -- A week after police shot to death an unarmed 18-year-old in his grandmother's Bronx apartment, questions continue to swirl around the aggressive police tactics that led to the fatal confrontation.

Ramarley Graham died last Thursday after Richard Haste, 30, a New York police officer, kicked down the door of his grandmother's apartment and shot Graham in the chest while he attempted to flush a bag of marijuana down the toilet. Graham was unarmed and police did not have a warrant to enter the home.

Graham's death has sparked street protests in Wakefield, a low-income neighborhood with a large African-American and Caribbean immigrant population, with many decrying the police actions as brazenly illegal.

"They had no business kicking down the door. They went too far," said Tyrone Harris, 27. "They need to go to jail just like any other citizen."

Jeffrey Emdin, an attorney representing Graham's mother, also called the police tactics unlawful. "They illegally entered the home," Emdin said. "They had no right to be inside. They had no right to use force."