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Family of Unarmed Youth Killed by NYPD Reportedly Harassed by Cops
Family of Unarmed Youth Killed by NYPD Reportedly Harassed by Cops
DNAinfo is reporting that the family of eighteen-year-old Ramarley Graham, who was unarmed when the NYPD shot him dead in his home last month, was previously harassed by the NYPD. Those close to the Grahams do not appear to believe the events are related, but see them as evidence of the widespread consequences aggressive policing wreaks on their communities. Last month, I reported that two weeks before Graham was killed, his cousin witnessed the NYPD's widely-publicized beating of his friend, Jateik Reed, and was roughed-up with the Reed family when they went to the precinct to inquire about Jateik. Taken together, one family's connection to multiple instances of police abuse paints a grim portrait of what it is like to be a young black youth living in the Bronx, constantly under the thumb of the cops.
According to DNA info, community leaders advised the Graham family to flee the local police and move from Harlem to the Bronx just months before Graham was killed, but his death was not the first time the Grahams were victims of police brutality:
On July 25, 2010, a police cruiser pulled up outside the Harlem home of Ramarley Graham's father, Franclot Graham, who lived with Ramarley's stepmother, four brothers, and grandmother at 131st Street. Ramarley, who was not present, lived in the Bronx with his mother, Constance Malcolm.
The boys' grandmother tried to usher the teens inside. Then all hell broke loose.
The teens said they were beaten, maced and knocked unconscious, according to a civil lawsuit filed against the the city and officers from the 32nd precinct. Officers used batons and mace to enter their apartment without a warrant, they claimed. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/825788/family_of_unarmed_youth_killed_by_nypd_reportedly_harassed_by_cops/
The boys' grandmother tried to usher the teens inside. Then all hell broke loose.
The teens said they were beaten, maced and knocked unconscious, according to a civil lawsuit filed against the the city and officers from the 32nd precinct. Officers used batons and mace to enter their apartment without a warrant, they claimed. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/825788/family_of_unarmed_youth_killed_by_nypd_reportedly_harassed_by_cops/
