Ramarley Graham's Family Angry At Cops' 'Unfair' Punishment

NEW YORK, NY — Two NYPD cops who were on the scene when a third officer killed an unarmed man reached settlements in their departmental disciplinary cases, the Police Department said Friday.

Sgt. Scott Morris and Officer John McLoughlin were on the scene in February 2012 when then-Officer Richard Haste shot 18-year-old Ramarley Graham in the chest, thinking he had a gun.

Morris will be suspended for 30 days without pay before retiring, NYPD spokesman Lt. John Grimpel said in an email. McLoughlin will forfeit 45 vacation days and will be on disciplinary probation for one year, Grimpel said.

Both cops signed a waiver of their rights under section 50-a of the state civil rights law to allow the NYPD to disclose the terms of their settlements, the Police Department said. The NYPD has cited that statute in deciding to keep police disciplinary records secret.

Morris and McLoughlin were facing internal disciplinary charges for their role in Graham's death nearly six years after it happened.

Morris was supervising while McLoughlin kicked in the door to Graham's Bronx apartment after he and Haste chased him. Haste shot Graham in the apartment thinking he had a gun, but one was never found at the scene.

Morris and McLoughlin risked being fired if they didn't accept the sanctions, the New York Daily News reported. Haste avoided termination earlier this year when he quit the force after an NYPD panel recommended firing him for shooting Graham.

In a statement, Constance Malcolm, Graham's mother, said Morris' resignation is "in the best interest of New Yorkers' safety," but McLoughlin's punishments "aren't adequate or appropriate consequences for his actions." Both cops deserved to be fired, she said.

"It’s unfair because a life was taken unjustly," Malcolm said Friday in a phone interview. "While they go home to their family I have to suffer with the pain."

The NYPD should have told Malcolm about the settlements sooner because she was "mentally and emotionally" preparing for the cops' disciplinary trials, Royce Russell, an attorney for the Graham family, said in a statement.

The settlements could impact a Freedom of Information lawsuit Malcolm brought against the NYPD to get more information about her son's death. City lawyers argued releasing the records would have interfered with Morris' and McLoughlin's trials, which will no longer occur.

Gideon Orion Oliver, Malcolm's attorney in the lawsuit, sent a letter to the judge in the case Friday noting that interference with the cops' trials is no longer an issue in the case.

The NYPD still needs to release the files so Malcolm can have all the answers about her son's killing, including the names of every officer involved, Malcolm said.

Haste has reportedly said the shooting was justified based on his training and what he knew of the situation at the time.

Lead image: A woman holds a candle at a vigil for Ramarley Graham in March 2012. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)