The Bronx district attorney yesterday blamed a runaway grand jury for clearing a white NYPD cop who fatally shot an unarmed black teen in a drug raid last year.
“We are surprised and shocked by the grand jury’s finding of no criminal liability in the death of Ramarley Graham,” DA Robert Johnson said.
“We are saddened for the family of the deceased young man, and still believe that the court’s dismissal of the original indictment was overly cautious.”
The unusual remarks came after the panel voted Wednesday not to re-indict Officer Richard Haste in the racially charged incident, which took place as Graham, 18, flushed marijuana down a drain in his Wakefield apartment.
This year, a judge tossed manslaughter charges against Haste because a prosecutor had improperly told another grand jury to ignore evidence that other cops warned him Graham had a gun.
Haste’s lawyer, Stuart London, said Johnson’s statement “smells of sour grapes.”
Meanwhile, the feds will review the case for possible civil-rights violations, the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office said.