New York -
The parents of a black 18-year-old man shot to death by a white New York City police officer in 2012 led several dozen supporters on a short march to a prosecutor's office on Wednesday to demand a federal civil rights probe.
“We feel like we don't count, like we don't even exist,” Franclot Graham, the father, told a news conference as he complained that nobody from the US attorney's office in Manhattan had met with the parents of Ramarley Graham after prosecutors said they would review evidence in the case a year ago to ensure no civil rights were violated.
US Attorney Loretta Lynch was scheduled to meet on Thursday with the family of a black man who died on July 17 after a white police officer put him in a chokehold as he was being arrested on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
The march follows almost two weeks of protests that have rattled a Missouri town after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old who was black.
Ramarley Graham died after he was shot once in the upper chest in February 2012 in a tiny bathroom in the three-family home where he lived with his grandmother and other relatives.
Richard Haste, the officer who shot him, said in a court statement that he fired his weapon because he thought he was going to be shot. But no weapons were found in the apartment. Police said marijuana was found in the toilet.
Haste was indicted on manslaughter charges in the summer of 2012, but the charges were dismissed by a judge who said prosecutors improperly instructed grand jurors to imply they should disregard testimony from police officers that they radioed Haste in advance to warn him that they thought Graham had a pistol. A second grand jury decided not to re-indict the officer.
Franclot Graham said the family has not heard anything from the government since its promise to review the case for civil rights violations.
“Not a meeting, no face-to-face with anyone,” he said. “I'm puzzled. I'm confused and I'm angry. My son has been dead almost 2½ years and I'm still waiting for my day in court... No one with authority seems to care about our son.”
“My son counts. I will not stop fighting,” he said as he wiped tears and stepped away from the microphone.
Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramarley Graham, said she wants to meet US Attorney Preet Bharara. She joined several lawyers, clergymen and political leaders as they submitted a letter at the entrance to Bharara's building that was addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder. Organisers of the rally said more than 33 000 people had signed petitions seeking a federal probe.
The prosecutor's office did not immediately comment on Wednesday. - Sapa-AP