Feds won't charge NYC officer who killed unarmed teen

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer who shot an unarmed teenager to death will not face federal civil rights charges, officials announced Tuesday, closing an investigation into a case activists have invoked in decrying police killings of black men.

There wasn't enough evidence to support charges in the 2012 death of Ramarley Graham, who was shot in the bathroom of his Bronx home by an officer who had followed him inside during a drug investigation, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office said in a statement.

The decision ends the possibility of criminal charges against Officer Richard Haste, who was indicted earlier on a state manslaughter charge that a judge dismissed, saying prosecutors had improperly instructed grand jurors.

Graham's parents and civil rights activists held an overnight protest last month at Bharara's office, sleeping on the concrete steps of the Manhattan office building to protest what they believed was a lag in the investigation.

According to Bharara's office, narcotics officers watching a Bronx corner store on Feb. 2, 2012, spotted Graham outside it, adjusting his pants in a way officers thought might indicate a gun, and they radioed his description to other officers.