A Raucous Protest Against a Police Killing
By TIM STELLOH
It was a dramatic conclusion to a day of protest: Leona Virgo, whose younger brother was shot to death by a police officer in the bathroom of their family’s home on Thursday, was hoisted above a sea of supporters outside the 47th Precinct station house in the Bronx on Monday night.
As the crowd condemned a dozen officers positioned outside the station — comparing them to members of the Ku Klux Klan, for instance — Ms. Virgo remembered her brother, Ramarley Graham, for the crowd.
“I never wanted him to go out like this,” said Ms. Virgo, 22, tearing up. “He was only 18 years old.”
But, she added: “This is not just about Ramarley. This is about all young black men.”
That theme was echoed throughout the afternoon, as hundreds gathered outside the family’s home on East 229th Street for what was, at times, a chaotic condemnation of police violence and the killing of Mr. Graham, who was unarmed.
The authorities are investigating the shooting, which happened after narcotics officers followed Mr. Graham into the apartment thinking that he was armed, the police said. An officer confronted Mr. Graham, who was in the bathroom, possibly trying to flush marijuana down the toilet, the authorities said. Moments later, the officer fired a shot, killing him.
On Monday, a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers outside the family’s home, a second-floor apartment in a three-story building, included more than half a dozen posters scrawled with anti-Police Department slogans.
“Blood is on your shoulders NYPD Killer!!” one poster read.
Juanita Young, 57, came to support Mr. Graham’s mother. Her son, Malcolm Ferguson, 23, was shot to death by the police in the South Bronx on March 1, 2000, for reasons still unclear to her. She received $4.4 million in 2007 after the city settled a wrongful-death suit, she said. “I know this mother’s pain,” Ms. Young said. “The pain we walk — can’t nothing touch that pain.”
Some feared that their children might be next; others wanted vengeance. “I don’t want justice,” said Arlene Brooks, 49. “I want revenge.”
Despite that tension, there did not appear to be any violence, and the crowd occasionally broke into song. About 6 p.m., Mr. Graham’s father, Franclot Graham, addressed the group, telling supporters to remember to celebrate his son’s life.
The raucous gathering was then led to the station house by Mr. Graham; his son’s mother, Constance Malcolm; and his son’s grandmother Patricia Hartley. Afterward, children riding bicycles down the street could be heard chanting one of the protest’s mantras: “NYPD-KKK.”
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13 comments:
I think that it wasnt right for the cops to be such assholes that they feel killing a young man in his house while his back is turned would be even right. They cant say that they thought he had something or he reached for anything because the fact remins he wasnt facing towards the cops to even point anything type or weapon to hurt them.How can they shoot someone that dumping drugs down a toilent? Yes the young man should have stopped,but i think for the cops to run into his house while he dupping drugs, theres more to the story then whats being told.
9547
no racism here just a scared cop trying to defend himself and his team from a criminal who he thought ran into the house to pull a gun.
5719
there has to be more to the story. i dont think a cop is going to follow a guy like this into his apt then just open the bathroom door and shoot him from behind. ofcourse this will all be covered up and the nypd will say this officer acted correctly.
S.d. CJI 102... 4954
There much be more to this story than is being told to us. That cop cld have just tackled the guy or at the very least just point the gun at him without firing. If he did really just shoot the guy without provocation then that is a sad, unjust thing and that officer needs to be made to be accountable for his actions and be prosecuted like anyone else who shoots someone for no reason. I just don't think we are being told everything that there is to know. D.R. CJI-102 5661
Dam another young man lost his life because the cop was quick to act. Polie always tend to to say they thought the person had a weapon or they looked a certain way is just a copout. Now that is just one less person they have to deal with. I mean he didn't even have a lot of marijuana. Go after the big boys and leave the small stuff alone. Stop spilling blood on the floors and grounds.
Arbubaker-1221
CJI-102
I'm sure there is more to the story, however I always side with cops. If they deem the guy needed to be shot. Then hey sucks to be that guy.
http://fisherman209.blogspot.com
As a young black man I feel it is a disgrace of how so many of us are being killed by guns. I believe poverty has played a big part in this because it all leads to drugs and higher crime rates. In this situation the cops should have made better decisions on getting their suspect.
Living in Bronx all my life I know the struggles that minorities face everyday. But according to this article the actions that occurred before are not posted. The intentions of the officer could have been justified. The minorities in the Bronx are usually the ones doing the crime so it is not just a racial issue. Many people in the Bronx just do not care if they get caught. like my uncle always said "It's winter so I need to get locked up again to stay warm." Crime always occurs and the minorities are quick to play the victim but what people do not know is that cops are also victims.
AC-2792
This a very interesting situation. It is honestly hard to tell what really happened inside the house. The mother of the child does deserve a reason why. We never know what is going through a police officers mind in times like this. The officer said he thought the young man was armed which could be true or the police officer trying to give a reason for shooting the young man. The young man possibly could have been locking himself in the bathroom. If I am a police officer I have no idea what is going on, on the other side of that door. I would as a police officer at least have my gun drawn. The police officer was most likely very scared. It is hard to believe this police officer or any police officer intentionally would try to kill someone for no reason. That really would not end well for anyone. Police are not killers but just doing their jobs. It is sickening to see what some of the protesters were saying and some of the signs they were holding up. They act like the whole NYPD are killers. They do have a right to protest however they should do it respectively and respect the men and woman who risk their lives everyday for them.
NS-3498
I feel that we are not being told the full story. For leo's to follow the guy into his house, there must have been something else going than just drugs and him possibly trying to flush them down the toilet. The leo's thought he had a weapon on his person, so for the safety, they did what they thought was right. It most likely was at the heat of the moment. When the kid was going through his house, he could have grabbed a weapon, we don't know.
A.A. 5111
These types of cases continually reappear, and we need to look less at the actions of the Police Officers and more to the citizens. we need to teach our children to listen to officers, it can save their life. Police Officers do not start their day hoping to shoot an unarmed teenager. To compare the NYPD to the KKK is outrageous. The NYPD is one of the most diverse police forces in the Country. They save thousands of minority lives by removing crime and guns off the streets.
-KK 8086
There has to be more to the story then is told in this excerpt. Unfortunately, stories like this one are becoming more and more common in the news. Officers are often put into the spotlight after events like this happen. Without knowing the whol story, it is hard to side with whether the actions were justified or not. One thing that is for certain is that the KKK chants comparing the NYPD to the KKK was not called for. JS-1684
Everything the is seen or written is the exact full story of what really goes on. Its just bits and pieces and sadly this isn't the first time an officer has killed an innocent boy. its hard to say if the actions were justified or not. but by what i just read it wasn't but like i said its just bits and pieces. I'm not saying either that the boy probably did something that made the police officer scared enough to shoot him. I'm just saying this wouldn't be the first time something like this happens.
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