On Sunday, his regular day off, Officer Richard Haste submitted his resignation from the New York Police Department ahead of a departmental recommendation that he be fired. Haste was the cop who in 2012 chased 18-year-old Ramarley Graham into his Bronx home, kicking down the door. He found Graham, cowering in a bathroom. Haste shot and killed him. Haste said Graham had a gun. No gun was found.
Leid Stories explains how a killer cop could remain active in the NYPD, drawing a salary for five years after killing a person, and walking free of penalty of law.
An Instagram post last Thursday set off a media frenzy. “14 Girls Have Gone Missing in D.C. in the Last 24 Hours,” the headline said, and within a flash it was the story. Except that the facts were way wrong, and needlessly caused panic.
But the story of young people disappearing into a shadowy world is a very important one, and Leid Stories looks at what the numbers are saying about dark secrets in our communities.