Three dozen family members, friends and loved ones of slain Bronx teenager Ramarley Graham filled a Manhattan federal courtroom on Tuesday for the first court date of a civil lawsuit against the city and NYPD over his shooting death.
A judge set a July 7 deadline for lawyers on both sides to share all their evidence before they return to court on Aug. 1.
The unarmed Graham was killed by police on Feb. 2 last year, after he rushed into the bathroom of his mom’s home and tried to flush narcotics down the toilet, police said. A Bronx grand jury declined to indict the cops.
“As you see in the court, it was packed so people are supporting. People is watching this case very closely,” Graham’s mom Constance Malcolm said outside court.
“They want to see justice and hopefully it’ll happen swiftly because it’s almost two years already and we still are like at a starting point. We are hopeful this process going forward makes it a lot easier on the journey going forward.”
Malcolm said she a jury would surely find in favor of the plaintiffs: “It’s a clear-cut case and if the court system can’t see it, when will we ever get justice.”
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Royce Russell, said the lawsuit is moving fast toward trial.
“It appears it will travel quickly, sternly with no shenanigans, no foreplay and misguiding,” he said. “Hopefully the truth will come out as this family makes this walk.”