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Officer in Ramarley Graham shooting, Richard Haste, to face departmental charges, NYPD says

The officer being investigating in the shooting death of Ramarley Graham in 2012 will face a departmental trial, the NYPD announced on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. Above, Graham's mother Constance Malcolm speaks as elected officials and civil rights groups join the family to call on the Justice Department to act with a formal investigation of the NYPD's shooting on Wednesday, April 16, 2014.
The officer being investigating in the shooting death of Ramarley Graham in 2012 will face a departmental trial, the NYPD announced on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. Above, Graham’s mother Constance Malcolm speaks as elected officials and civil rights groups join the family to call on the Justice Department to act with a formal investigation of the NYPD’s shooting on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Photo Credit: Jeff Bachner

The officer who fatally shot unarmed Bronx teen Ramarley Graham in 2012 will face a departmental trial, police announced Thursday.

After being chased by Officer Richard Haste and other officers into his Bronx apartment, Graham was shot and killed while he was trying to flush marijuana down a toilet.

Haste, who is currently on modified duty, has said he thought Graham was armed at the time, but no weapon was recovered.

Officers from the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit had been watching a bodega earlier and flagged Graham after watching him walk in and out of the store.

On Thursday, a representative for the NYPD said in an email the department concluded an evaluation of the “internal disciplinary case” and determined it will move forward with that departmental trial.

It was not immediately clear when that trial would begin.

Graham’s mother, Constance Malcolm, slammed the announcement.

“This seems like more of a political announcement than real news about accountability, and I’m tired of Mayor [Bill] de Blasio and others playing politics with the NYPD’s killing of my son,” she said in an email. “Haste should face a trial on a number of charges and be fired for all of his misconduct, but the NYPD has given no date for the trial, timeline or even list of charges that he’s facing.”

A series of failed grand jury actions in state court stalled the criminal case against Haste.

And in March, the federal investigation into the shooting was closed with no charges filed. At the time, there was “insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal charges,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.