Officer Richard Haste, 31, pursued Graham, 18, into his grandmother’s apartment, where he lived. Graham was suspected of being involved in a drug deal and Haste confronted him in the bathroom before shooting him in the chest and killing him because he thought the teenager was reaching for a gun, Gawker reports. However, Graham didn’t have a gun.
Along with the settlement, an ongoing federal investigation by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is looking into possible civil rights violations involving the NYPD cops in the Feb. 2, 2012 fatal shooting, The New York Daily News reports.
Haste was initially indicted for manslaughter by the Bronx district attorney, but a judge tossed the case due to a legal technicality and a second grand jury declined to indict Haste.
“This was a tragic case,” said Nick Paolucci, a City Law Department spokesman said. “After evaluating all the facts, and consulting with key stakeholders such as the NYPD, it was determined that settling the matter was in the best interest of the City.”
Haste doesn’t have to pay anything toward the settlement, one source said, per The New York Daily News.
$2.95 million will be allocated to Graham’s estate. His brother will receive $500,000 and his grandmother will receive $450,000 because both were in the home when Graham was killed. Graham’s mother, Constance Malcolm, will also receive $40,000 the sources said.
The family sought emotional damages and compensation for their alleged mistreatment by police who detained them after the shooting.
Last August, Graham’s family was notified that Bharara would be reviewing the case, DNA Info reported.
The New York Daily News reports that according to the suit, Haste threatened to shoot Patricia Hartley, Graham’s grandmother, after he’d killed Graham in the bathroom.
“Why did you shoot him?” she asked. “Why you killed him?”
“Get the f–k away before I have to shoot you, too,” Haste allegedly said and shoved her into a vase.
Cops chased Graham into his home without a warrant and Haste claimed that he’d heard someone on the police radio say that Graham was armed.
In the suit, the NYPD was accused of trying to cover up the teen’s killing, failing to properly train officers, and engaging in racial discrimination via the stop-and-frisk policy. A small bag of marijuana was recovered.
Numerous protests have been sparked by Graham’s death in the Bronx as well as other parts of the city by demonstrators asking that justice be served.
