New York to Pay $3.9mn Settlement after Police Kill Black Teen

New York City has settled with the family of an unarmed black teen fatally shot by police in a highly controversial case in 2012, agreeing to pay US$3.9 million, officials said Friday.

Ramarley Graham, 18, was shot dead on Feb. 2, 2012 inside the bathroom of his Bronx home after being followed by police officers who stormed into his apartment without a warrant.

"This was a tragic case," New York City Law Department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci said in an email.

"After evaluating all the facts, and consulting with key stakeholders such as the NYPD, it was determined that settling the matter was in the best interest of the city," he added.

Police said several officers who had seen Graham on the street suspected he had a gun based solely because of the way he moved his hands near his waist.

The officer who killed Graham, Richard Haste, was indicted for the fatal shooting in June 2012. However, in May 2013, a judge dismissed the charges, ruling that prosecutors gave the grand jury improper instructions.

A second grand jury later decided against re-indicting Haste. A federal probe of the shooting by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office is underway.

Critics have pointed to a worrisome trend in the United States where officers are rarely charged in the shooting deaths of civilians.

Haste and a partner followed Graham to his apartment building and kicked down his apartment door. Haste shot Graham in the chest in a bathroom, police said. No gun was found.

New York City's settlement with the Graham family ends a federal lawsuit filed over the killing.

The Law Department said US$2.95 million will go to Graham's estate, while Graham's brother will receive US$500,000, his grandmother will get US$450,000, and his mother will receive US$40,000.

The settlement comes a day after the girlfriend of another unarmed black teen shot dead by a police officer notified officials that she plans to file a US$50 million lawsuit against the city.

The fatal shooting of 28-year-old Akai Gurley in a dark stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project last November was among a string of incidents that fueled widespread protests over what critics say is a pattern of police brutality toward minority groups.

Gurley's funeral was held in December amid angry demonstrations in New York City days after a grand jury declined to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of another unarmed black man, Eric Garner, on Staten Island.