The parents of a New York teen who was killed by an NYPD police officer nearly four years ago are upset over the delayed trial and substantial raise of one of the officers involved in his death.
Officer Richard Haste, 34, earned $88,614 in 2015 and has received $25,000 in raises since gunning down Ramarley Graham in 2012, according to The Huffington Post. Following the Bronx shooting, Haste was placed on desk duty and currently works in the department’s motor fleet division, fixing NYPD squad cars.
Before he was placed on modified duty, Haste earned $53,000 with $9,000 in overtime pay and $4,800 in miscellaneous pay. Today, the officer has an earned salary of $76,000 with $2,000 in overtime pay and $10,147 in “other pay.” While the other pay hasn’t been specified, Al O’Leary, spokesman for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, says Haste’s earnings are automatic because of his time on the force.
The Huffington Post reports:
“Any raises that any police officer, detective, the sergeant on up to captain gets is because it is contractually mandated as a result of an agreement between the city and the union that represents the title,” O’Leary said. “So suggesting that there is something special or unusual in any raise for any non-managerial member of the NYPD, like Haste, is simply wrong. Everyone in that same title with similar time on the job (longevity pay) got what he got. That’s the way it works.”
Haste, along with a number of other police officers, entered Graham’s Wakefield home without a warrant after allegedly watching him make a drug transaction at a local grocery store. The officers claimed the teenager ran into the home to escape police, but surveillance cameras captured Graham walking calmly into his house and locking the door. Police kicked down the door and entered his bathroom as he was flushing marijuana down the toilet, they said.
Believing he was armed, Haste shot the 18-year-old in front of his grandmother and six-year-old brother. Graham was unarmed and no guns were found in the home.
Little progress has been made involving the case. No officers have been charged with Graham’s death, and the family received a settlement of $3.9 million earlier this year. Despite the settlement, the family says they aren’t any closer to finding justice for their son.
Via Huffington Post:
“I’m not surprised,” Constance Malcolm, Graham’s mother, told The Huffington Post when she learned about Haste’s raise. Whenever an officer kills an innocent person, she said, they seem to “either get promoted or get a raise.”
It sends a message to other officers, Malcolm added, that they can get away with misconduct.
And while Haste has carried on working at the NYPD, the four-year anniversary of Ramarley’s death is approaching, she said, and “I still don’t know what happened to my son.”
Police experts blamed the delayed trial on staff changes and simultaneous investigations, but a four year gap is reportedly uncommon. They also hinted that delayed trials make it difficult for witnesses because as time goes on, memories of an incident can fade.
In recent weeks, many officers involved in police shootings and non-fatal incidents have returned to work or received promotions.
Last week, Kadiatou Diallo, the mother of Amadou Diallo, who was shot over 40 times in 1999, called out the NYPD for the promotion of Kenneth Boss, one of four officers who shot the 22-year-old immigrant. Joined by Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday, Diallo blasted police commissioner Bill Bratton, demanding he owes her an explanation for Boss’ promotion.
As of today, the investigation into Graham’s death is still ongoing.
SOURCE: The Huffington Post | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform
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NYPD Cop Who Fatally Shot Ramarley Graham Receives Hefty Raise [VIDEO] was originally published on newsone.com
