A New York Police Department officer quickly resigned over the weekend before the department could fire him.
Richard Haste underwent a disciplinary trial for his 2012 fatal shooting of Ramarley Graham, an unarmed black teenager, reports ABC 7 NY.
The Department Trial Commissioner ruled Haste guilty Friday of using “poor tactical judgement and leading up to the discharge of his firearm” and “[acting] with intent to cause serious physical injury leading to [Graham’s] death.”
Haste decided to quit rather than wait for Police Commissioner James O’Neill to terminate him. He walked into the department Sunday at 7:30 p.m. and turned in his badge.
“He can walk in, say I quit, and walk out the door. It’s as simple as that. We can’t do anything to him,” the source told the New York Daily News. “We take his ID, we ask him to sign his resignation exit interview form, and that’s it.”
Graham’s mother blasted Haste’s resignation, saying he should be in prison for shooting her son.
“Richard Haste should have been in prison but instead of even firing him, the de Blasio administration let him resign. This is just another example that the de Blasio administration doesn’t care about justice and accountability. Every step of the way, the Mayor and NYPD have dragged their heels and have refused to hold officers accountable for murdering my son,” Constance Malcolm said.
Haste originally had a criminal manslaughter charge for shooting Graham, but a judge tossed the case due to a technicality. The case came before another grand jury, but they refused to indict Haste and prosecutors also refused to charge him again.
The city gave Graham’s mother $3.9 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.
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