NEW YORK — A white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager resigned Sunday from the New York Police Department to avoid being fired following a disciplinary trial in a case that sparked outrage over police use of deadly force against black men.

Richard Haste was brought on departmental charges for demonstrating “poor judgment.”

He was accused of not taking obvious steps to defuse a fatal standoff that ended in the 2012 death of Ramarley Graham inside the teen’s own bathroom, as his grandmother and little brother looked on in horror. Administrative Judge Rosemarie Maldonado found on Friday that Haste should be fired from the department.

Technically, Haste had time to go over the findings before they would be presented to Police Commissioner James O’Neill, who has the final say, but Haste resigned instead.

The commissioner had not yet officially ruled, but “has fully concurred with the findings and recommendations of the trial commissioner,” according to a statement from the department late Sunday.

Haste initially faced a criminal manslaughter charge in the death, but the case was dismissed because of a procedural error. A new grand jury declined to indict, and federal prosecutors also declined to bring charges.

“He was exonerated by both a state and federal grand jury,” said Haste’s lawyer, Stuart London. “The New York City Police Department Firearms Discharge Review Board found the shooting to be justified. All of officer Haste’s actions were performed in good faith. He never should have been forced to resign based on tactics alone.”

Graham’s shooting death in 2012 came before a spate of highly publicized killings by police, such as the deaths of Michael Brown, Walter Scott and Eric Garner, that helped put the topic into the spotlight. But Graham’s family and friends have been a constant public presence over the past five years, demanding justice for the 18-year-old.