NYPD kill-spree

Posted on February 8th, 2012 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

New York CityRamarley Graham, 18, was shot and killed by an NYPD cop in Williamsbridge section of The Bronx Feb. 2 afternoon, after entering an apartment as undercover officers pursued him. Police spokesman Paul J. Browne said there was "no evidence that he was armed" when the narcotics officer shot him once in the upper left chest. Officers found a small bag of cannabis in the toilet at the home he entered after the pursuit. He was killed in the bathroom, apparently while trying to dispose of the stash. Police said they had followed him after witnessing a drug purchase (presumably cannabis), and said they thought he had a gun. 

Graham's devastated grandmother, Patricia Hartley, 58, was held for seven hours at the 47th Precinct stationhouse after the shooting, where she was questioned for over five hours by cops and representatives from the District Attorney's office. The revelation further fueled community outrage.

Graham was the third person the NYPD had killed in a week. On Jan. 26, an off-duty police lieutenant shot a 22-year-old carjacking suspect in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. On Jan. 29, an off-duty detective shot an unarmed 17-year-old in Bushwick, Brooklyn, apparently during a mugging. (Huffington Post, Feb. 7; DNAinfo, Feb. 5; Colorlines, Feb. 3; CBS New York, Jan. 30)

An angry crowd of some 500 protesters gathered Feb. 6 outside of the Bronx residence where Graham was shot. "We are human beings. Stop treating us like animals," Frank Graham, the slain teen's father, told the crowd. "My son did nothing wrong. I want justice for my son, my baby."

Juanita Young, 57, the mother of Malcolm Ferguson, a 23-year-old who was killed by an NYPD narcotics officer in 2000, joined in the rally to show solidarity with Graham's parents. (NY Daily News, Feb. 6)

  

Comments

Another cannabis-related NYPD killing

Bill Weinberg's picture

 A 51-year-old man who has not yet been identified was shot dead by police near Times Square Aug. 11. Police apparently stopped him for smoking a joint, and he responded by fleeing and then, when cornered at 37th St and 7th Ave., pulling a six-inch kitchen knife. He reportedly refused orders to drop the knife, but lunged at the officers, precipitating his own death. (NYT, Aug. 11)

OK, the guy was clearly disturbed. But the whole thing could have been avoided—including bullets flying in the most crowded part of the city on a Saturday afternoon—if the cops had let him smoke his joint in peace.

Just sayin'.

 

Comment by Bill Weinberg on Aug 12th, 2012 at 2:40 am

East Flatbush riot over police killing

Bill Weinberg's picture

Anger over a fatal police shooting over the weekend sparked a protest in East Flatbush March 11. What began as a candle-light march of more than 100 exploded into violence as some youth threw bottles, and police responded in riot gear. One person was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Police say Kimani "Kiki" Gray, 16, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at authorities late the night of March 9 before two plainclothes officers fired 11 rounds.

Questions have been raised about whether Kiki was really armed. But City Councilman Jumaane Williams said the incident was about systemic oppression. He said: "It's not about one shooting and the detail of that particular shooting. There's a feeling of disrespect that's gone on for many, many years. Many of us have been saying we need to engage more with the police department, engage more with the mayors. Instead of listening to us, they push back, and this is what's happening here." (NY1, Village Voice, March 12)

 

Comment by Bill Weinberg on Mar 13th, 2013 at 1:16 am

New developments in East Flatbush case

Bill Weinberg's picture

 Amid continued protests in East Flatbush, it emerges from the Daily News March 15 that:

The NYPD sergeant and cop involved in the fatal shooting of Brooklyn 16-year-old Kimani Gray have been named in five federal lawsuits — which cost the city a total of $215,000 in settlements, court records show.


Sgt. Mourad Mourad racked up three suits while he was a plainclothes cop on Staten Island, and Officer Jovaniel Cordova racked up two at Brooklyn’s 70th Precinct — all alleging various civil rights violations including illegal stop and search and false arrest.
Prosecutors later dismissed all but one of the arrests against the six plaintiffs, and the criminal cases were sealed.


Mourad and Cordova had been placed on desk duty while the NYPD and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the March 9 shooting in East Flatbush that has since sparked riots. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said Gray was shot after he pointed a .38-caliber revolver at the sergeant and cop, who had approached a group of youths on the street.

Significantly, neither of the officers were in uniform at the time of the incident, so even if Gray had a gun, he might not have known he was aiming it at police. And did he have a gun? Blogs Sophie Lewis on In These Times:

A spokesperson for the NYPD declared that the gun "found on the scene," which no one except police has seen, contained four live rounds. So we are supposed to believe that Kimani, who was attending a baby shower, had a gun on him. He was by all accounts a young man with common sense, well acquainted with the dehumanizing ubiquity of stop-and-frisk. Yet we must believe that he whipped around like Rambo to aim at some plainclothes cops when they suddenly confronted him. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is asking us to believe there was reason to shoot, even though Kimani fired no shots and pled for his life.

 

 

Comment by Bill Weinberg on Mar 18th, 2013 at 9:49 pm

East Flatbush intifada spreads to Queens

Bill Weinberg's picture

 From the Daily News, April 6:

Three-hour standoff between cops in riot gear and Queens residents after drug bust
A drug bust outside a Queens housing project erupted into a tense three-hour standoff Friday night as dozens of angry residents marched on the 113th Precinct and cops in riot gear stood guard over their stationhouse.

Shocked witnesses said police officers pounded on brothers Raynard Fields, 27, and Corey Crichlow, 33, outside the Baisley Park Houses during the 7:45 p.m. arrest on Foch Blvd.

“The cops came up to the car and dragged (Crichlow) out and started beating on him,” said witness Gary Frazier, 22. “When (Fields) tried to calm the situation down, they beat him down. Cops came from everywhere.”

About 50 incensed residents protested the arrest and what they call a pattern of brutality by the NYPD by marching down Guy R. Brewer Blvd. to the Baisley Blvd. stationhouse. They ran through the streets, knocking garbage cans over during their 6-block trek, witnesses said.

“I am sick of the 113th Precinct harassing the young black men in the Baisley projects,” said marcher Kathy Moore, 40. Cops responded to the impromptu protest in riot helmets and batons, forcing protesters onto the sidewalk.

More cops in riot gear met protesters at the 113th Precinct, where Fields was being treated inside an ambulance parked next to the stationhouse. Sources said he suffered a deep gash to his face during the brawl. He was expected to be taken to a hospital, a relative said.

Police sources said officers spotted Crichlow with drugs, but he swallowed them as they approached. The officers were arresting Crichlow when Fields interjected and a fight broke out, sources said.

At least one officer was injured in the fight and was taken to an area hospital with neck and back injuries. Other cops had to evade a barrage of garbage and bottles that witnesses were throwing at them.

“(Residents) were throwing things from windows,” a police source said.
 

 

 

Comment by Bill Weinberg on Apr 6th, 2013 at 7:23 pm

No charges for NYPD officer who shot Ramarley Graham

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Richard Haste, the NYPD officer who shot unarmed teenager Ramarley Graham last year, will not be tried for manslaughter after a Bronx grand jury declined to indict the officer. This comes after an earlier indictment was thrown out by a judge last May after an error was made by the Bronx DA's office. (Gothamist, Aug. 8)

Comment by Global Ganja Report on Aug 8th, 2013 at 10:55 am

Feds to review Ramarley Graham case

Global Ganja Report's picture

Federal prosecutors said Aug. 8 they will review the case of Ramarley Graham to determine if his civil rights were violated. The announcement by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York capped a day of demonstrations in protest of a Bronx grand jury’s decision not to indict NYPD Officer Richard Haste for fatally shooting the 18-year-old last year. (Daily News, Aug. 8)

Comment by Global Ganja Report on Aug 9th, 2013 at 9:11 pm

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