Delray Police Cleared of Kiling One Black Man & Shooting Another

Shooting involved racial stereotyping, according to lawyer for survivor

Two police officers who fatally shot the driver of a slow-moving car outside a million-dollar home on the Intracoastal Waterway on Oct. 16 have been cleared of wrongdoing by the State Attorney's Office. Daniel Cramer and Jeff Kology fired 16 rounds, killing the driver and critically wounding a passenger who were trying to leave a reported drug house in the 700 block of Southeast 10th Street, records show. Investigators estimated the car's speed at 2 to 5 mph. Ralph A. Brown, 23, of Delray Beach died from multiple gunshot wounds. Paul E. Stevens, 21, also of Delray Beach, was shot in the chest. The bullet remains lodged near his spinal cord. The men's families have filed a notice of legal claim against the city, said their attorney, Renee Clark. The lawyer for the man who was wounded in the Delray Beach Police shooting that left on person dead said her client was the victim of racial stereotyping. The State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated. State Attorney Barry Krischer determined that since the officers feared for their safety, their use of force was justified. Of the 16 shots fired, eight went through the windshield, five in the driver's side and three in the passenger's side."The officers allege that the vehicle was being driven toward them and that they were in fear for their lives. But Ralph and Paul were leaving because they did not want any trouble. They were unarmed. They did not have any firearms with them. They had no weapons on them. They were not carrying drugs or paraphernalia. They were simply two black men in a prestigious, predominantly white neighborhood who were victims of racial stereotyping." "The officers did not know what type of prior history these two victims had when they opened fire killing Ralph and seriously wounding Paul. Prior arrests do not mean prior convictions. In fact, Paul's prior arrests were when he was a juvenile. Paul has no adult convictions. The reality is that prior arrests do not justify being gunned down in cold blood," she said.[more] and [more]