Jack & Jill Politics

Two days ago I posted about the death of Ramarley Graham, the Bronx teen who was shot to death in his home by NYPD officers who claimed they thought he had a gun. So far, the only thing one can conclusively say Graham was guilty of was possessing a small amount of marijuana which he was trying to flush down the toilet when the police shot him.

In my previous post I wrote that Graham had run from the police, seeking the safety of his apartment rather than having to submit to a ‘stop-and-frisk’ search. Well, it turns out I was wrong, Graham was not ‘running’ from the police when he entered his Bronx home. This weekend a video was released that shows Ramarley Graham entering his house at a normal pace, shortly thereafter police officers can be observed trying to kick in the door. Later they gain entrance to the house from the back and the front door is opened for the other officers. According to witnesses the police then ran upstairs to the second floor apartment where Ramarley Graham lived with his mother, grandmother and six year old brother. His grandmother witnessed the police entering the apartment guns drawn, she saw them shoot and kill her grandson, who had run to the bathroom apparently in an attempt to flush the marijuana down the toilet. Watch and listen for yourself:

At the end of the video, local political leaders are shown holding a press conference with another young man, Jateik Reed – his face visibly scarred and bruised – who was beaten by NYPD officers earlier in the week after a stop-and-frisk and illegal search revealed he possessed small amounts of drugs. His brutal beating was caught on videotape that aired on local tv stations.

These events are yet another in the long history of NYPD brutality in interactions with minority residents. Last month, police in Brooklyn fatally shot an armed man who they mistakenly believed was a robber but was actually in the process of defending his family from an occurring home invasion. Two weeks later, NYPD officers fatally shot a carjacking suspect. Needless to say, folks are getting upset. The day after Jamarley was killed by the police, local residents organized an Occupy-style protest outside the 47th Precinct.

In addition to protesting the unprovoked killing of an unarmed black man by police, community residents are also protesting the treatment Jamarley’s grandmother received at the hands of the NYPD. One would think under the circumstances, NYPD officials would show compassion and sensitivity to Patricia Hartley 58, who according to NYPD Commissioner Kelly was “right there” when the shooting occurred. Kelly said Ms. Hartley was standing between the bedroom and bathroom doors, but did not say whether she had a clear view of her grandson when he was shot. According to the New York Times:

After Mr. Graham was killed, Ms. Hartley was taken to the 47th Precinct station house on Laconia Avenue and held for seven hours, said Carlton Berkley, a friend of the family’s who said he had retired from the police force as a detective in the 30th Precinct, in Upper Manhattan. Mr. Berkley added that Ms. Hartley was forced to give a statement about what happened.

“She gave it against her will,” Mr. Berkley said. “She didn’t want to speak to the police.”

Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, provided a timeline of Ms. Hartley’s interviews with detectives and prosecutors. At 7 p.m., he said, she was “naturally upset but cooperative.”

Mr. Browne said Ms. Hartley spent five and a half hours at the station house. After her lawyer arrived, Mr. Browne said, she gave a recorded statement to prosecutors. She left about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Mr. Browne said.

In another account, Paulette Minzi, the landlady who lived downstairs, reported hearing Patricia Hartley cry out after the police entered her home, “Why are you hitting me?” According to Ms. Minzi, police then entered her home, put a gun in her face, and searched her the apartment for a gun. They found nothing.

I’m sure we’ll learn more about the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Ramarley Graham as the investigation continues to unfold, but what we know already raises serious concern. We know that an unarmed teenager was shot and killed by police who attempted to enter his home forcibly without a warrant. We know that although the police allege they believe he possessed a gun, the evidence in support of this allegation consists of vague claims that he was seen fiddling with his waistband and that the “way he carried himself” suggested he had a gun. (I’m not even going to touch that one).

We know that after Ramarley was shot and taken to the hospital where he subsequently died, police made his grandmother go to the police station where she was held for seven hours (more than five hrs. without a lawyer) until she gave a statement against her will about the events that led to her grandson’s death. As an eyewitness to the shooting, she was in the sole position to corroborate the police version of what happened. While her statement has yet to be made public, we do know that she has not corroborated the claim that Officer Haste shouted, “Gun, Gun”, before he shot her grandson.

We know an effort is already being made to besmirch the character of the deceased. There is nothing in Ramarley Graham’s background to suggest that he was involved in selling any drugs – including marijuana. We know that he was observed by police entering a store where police believed marijuana was being sold. We know he left the store with some friends and entered another building where he remained for a short period of time. We know when he left the building he was heading home when police called out for him to stop. We know he was close enough to his home to get there by walking at a normal pace before police who were running behind could catch up to him. We know he had entered his home and locked the door before police arrived. We know the police tried to enter the house by kicking down the door although they had no warrant.

None of these facts suggest that he was dealing drugs or even selling marijuana. The facts suggest that like thousands of other people, he may have purchased a small amount of marijuana along with some friends. The fact suggest he and his friends may have then gone to another location, perhaps to split up the marijuana. The facts suggest Ramarley Graham was on his way home when the police called out to him and that he felt confident enough in his status as a law-abiding citizen to continue on to his home and enter it, as he had every legal right to do.

So, I must admit I was somewhat surprised when I read the following in The Root story of the shooting:

Many defenders of the police will say that this young man was a criminal selling drugs. By all accounts, that is accurate. But criminals aren’t supposed to be executed by police in this country, unless they pose an immediate threat to those officers; they are arrested and go on to face a jury trial. This young teenager made choices that should have landed him in a jail — not a box. We hope this family finds some semblance of justice in this tragic case.[emphasis added.

By whose account is that an accurate representation of what Ramarley Graham was doing? The NYPD? The New York Post? Since when are they known for accuracy in reporting on police misconduct and black criminality? We’ve seen this effort before – in the case of Patrick Dorismond and more recently in the case of Michael Mineo, who was sodomized by police in the course of a marijuana possession arrest. Whenever police are accused of brutality or causing the death of an unarmed person, the first impulse is to cast doubt on their honesty and innocence. Any prior mistakes or transgressions however remote or tangential are raised – anything that will shift focus away from the police misconduct and towards the victim’s behavior. We can’t allow that to happen here and we certainly shouldn’t facilitate it!!

SIGN THE PETITION FOR A NEW DRUG POLICY!!

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