Acquittals in Sean Bell's shooting spark outrage

[CameraNewbie 0]

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From Deborah Feyerick CNN



NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nicole Paultre Bell bolted from the courtroom Friday as a judge acquitted three New York City detectives of all charges in the shooting death of her fiance.

"I've got to get out of here," Paultre Bell said.

Justice Arthur Cooperman was announcing the verdict clearing Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora of manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment in the death of Sean Bell.

Detective Marc Cooper was cleared of reckless endangerment.

"What we saw in court today was not a miscarriage of justice," the Rev. Al Sharpton said on his radio program.

"Justice didn't miscarry," he said. "This was an abortion of justice. Justice was aborted."

Sharpton, who has been advising Bell's family, had called for calm Wednesday.

Bell, 23, died in November 2006 in a 50-bullet barrage -- 31 fired by Oliver -- hours before he was to be married. Two of his companions were wounded in the gunfire outside a Queens nightclub.

Alexander Jason, an expert witness for the defense, sent iReport.com a video demonstrating how quickly Oliver could have fired off 31 rounds, including a pause to reload.

The three officers made brief statements more than four hours after the verdict.

"I want to say sorry to Bell family for the tragedy," Cooper said.

Isnora thanked the judge "for his fair and accurate decision today."

Oliver praised Cooperman "for a fair and just decision."

That's not how one community leader viewed it.

"This case was not about justice," declared Leroy Gadsden, chair of the police/community relations committee of the Jamaica Branch NAACP. "This case was about the police having a right to be above the law. If the law was in effect here, if the judge had followed the law truly, these officers would have been found guilty.

"This court, unfortunately, is bankrupt when it comes to justice for people of color."

Patrick Lynch, president of the New York Police Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said "there's no winners; there's no losers" in the case.

"We still have a death that occurred. We still have police officers that have to live with the fact that there was a death involved in their case," Lynch said.

But, he added, the verdict assured police officers that they will be treated fairly in New York's courts.

Many people outside the courthouse saw it differently.

"You can't be proud of wearing that hat. You can't be proud of wearing that badge," a black woman shouted at a black police officer. "You must stop working for the masters! Stand down! Stop working for the masters!"

"Fifty shots is murder. I don't care what you say. That's what it is," another woman said.

Despite the evident anger and a brief fistfight, the crowd remained generally orderly.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement saying, "An innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son. No verdict could ever end the grief that those who knew and loved Sean Bell suffer."

However, he said, the legal system must be respected.

"America is a nation of laws, and though not everyone will agree with the verdicts and opinions issued by the courts, we accept their authority."

Bloomberg also said he had spoken briefly with Paultre Bell on Wednesday and agreed with her on the need to ensure that similar incidents would not occur in the future.

Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown echoed the mayor's sentiments.

"I accept his verdict, and I urge certainly that all fair-minded people in this city to the same," Brown said.

"The bottom line is that all of us working together -- the law enforcement community, our elected public officials, our individuals who are involved -- have got to make certain that that which occurred ... is never again repeated."

In announcing the verdict, Cooperman said he found problems with the prosecution's case. He said some prosecution witnesses contradicted themselves, and he cited prior convictions and incarcerations of witnesses.

"At times, the testimony just didn't make sense," Cooperman said, according to a transcript released by his office.

He also cited the demeanor of some witnesses on the stand.

Bell was killed just before dawn on his wedding day, November 25, 2006. He and several friends were winding up an all-night bachelor party at the Kalua Club in Queens, a strip club that was under investigation by a NYPD undercover unit looking into complaints of guns, drugs and prostitution.

Undercover detectives were inside the club, and plainclothes officers were stationed outside.

Witnesses said that about 4 a.m., closing time, as Bell and his friends left the club, an argument broke out. Believing that one of Bell's friends, Joseph Guzman, was going to get a gun from Bell's car, one of the undercover detectives followed the men and called for backup.

What happened next was at the heart of the trial, prosecuted by the assistant district attorney in Queens.

Bell, Guzman and Trent Benefield got into the car, with Bell at the wheel. The detectives drew their weapons, said Guzman and Benefield, who testified that they never heard the plainclothes detectives identify themselves as police.

Bell was in a panic to get away from the armed men, his friends testified.

But the detectives thought Bell was trying to run down one of them, believed that their lives were in danger and started shooting, according to their lawyers.

A total of 50 bullets were fired by five NYPD officers. Only three were charged with crimes.

No gun was found near Bell or his friends.

Paultre Bell, Guzman and Benefield have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court that has been stayed pending the outcome of the criminal trial.

Federal prosecutors will conduct a review to determine whether there were any civil rights violations, Brown said.

What do protesters want? Dead cops! When do they want it? Every 2 weeks!

[lawrocket 3]

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"What we saw in court today was not a miscarriage of justice," the Rev. Al Sharpton said on his radio program.

"Justice didn't miscarry," he said. "This was an abortion of justice. Justice was aborted."

Sharpton, who has been advising Bell's family, had called for calm Wednesday.

In other words, "Die down, fire, while I add this gasoline..."

There's no way that this can be good...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[BillyVance 34]

I would be surprised if there wasn't a riot a-la Rodney King beat-down. Then again, this is NY, not LA...

If this was in LA instead of NY, would LA riot?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[lawrocket 3]

I don't know if it would riot. Quite frankly, the demographics are a bit different now than 15 years ago with the Rodney King issue, with the Latinos and the blacks too busy hating each other to worry about the police too much.

And without a fiery guy like Daryl Gates, the police are not viewed as much as the enemy as they were in the 80's and early 90's. Back then, the LAPD was a fucking armed gang.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[D22369 0]

Back then, the LAPD was a fucking armed gang***


Kinda looks like some of the lapd moved to New York....

its an insane verdict, wonder how much the judge got paid for it


Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.

[kelpdiver 2]

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I would be surprised if there wasn't a riot a-la Rodney King beat-down. Then again, this is NY, not LA...

If this was in LA instead of NY, would LA riot?

You have to at least admit the police might have a leg to stand on here, whereas the video evidence for the King beating left no doubt. Obviously the difference between having video and not. Apparently this trial had testimony from cops and from people with criminal pasts, and no one in between.

[airdvr 210]

I think there is some dash-cam evidence.

Hang on NYC...it's gonna be a fun evening for sure.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[kschilk 0]

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You have to at least admit the police might have a leg to stand on here, whereas the video evidence for the King beating left no doubt. Obviously the difference between having video and not. Apparently this trial had testimony from cops and from people with criminal pasts, and no one in between.

Unless there were 50 cops, there was no reason for there to be 50 shots fired...especially at close range and in an urban area. Clearly, none of those cops were competent.

"T'was ever thus."

[kelpdiver 2]

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Unless there were 50 cops, there was no reason for there to be 50 shots fired...especially at close range and in an urban area. Clearly, none of those cops were competent.

Have you ever been in a gunfight before? How the fuck do you know how many shots are necessary? If I'm a situation I deem life or death, you can bet I'll empty the magazine. Of course in CA, that means only 10.

Odds are the cops had never been in one either. And most are inferior shots to a good number of the gun toters here on SC.

[kschilk 0]

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Unless there were 50 cops, there was no reason for there to be 50 shots fired...especially at close range and in an urban area. Clearly, none of those cops were competent.

Have you ever been in a gunfight before? How the fuck do you know how many shots are necessary? If I'm a situation I deem life or death, you can bet I'll empty the magazine. Of course in CA, that means only 10.

Odds are the cops had never been in one either. And most are inferior shots to a good number of the gun toters here on SC.

Problem here is that the term "gunfight", usually denotes two or more people, shooting at each other. As I understand it, only the cops were armed so that isn't a gunfight....that's a turkey-shoot. Sorry....but if I couldn't hit the guy (in this case...a close, stationary target) in 10 shots, I'd walk up to 'im and beat 'im to death with the gun.

"T'was ever thus."

[Trent 0]

I wonder how Shithead Sharpton will figure out how to blame whitey? ...since 2 of the 3 cops were definitely NOT white. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll implode with confusion.

I guess I'm naive, but I STILL think that 99.99% of cops do not go out in the morning hoping to kill someone. I'd like to know what evidence was used to acquit the officers that were on trial.

Oh, hello again!

[kelpdiver 2]

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Problem here is that the term "gunfight", usually denotes two or more people, shooting at each other. As I understand it, only the cops were armed so that isn't a gunfight....that's a turkey-shoot. Sorry....but if I couldn't hit the guy (in this case...a close, stationary target) in 10 shots, I'd walk up to 'im and beat 'im to death with the gun.

So do you wait for the other guy to fire back to prove he has a gun? Or are you intelligent?

I can't speak to the particulars of the case - I wasn't there and I wasn't in court. The evil cop angle could be the true one. But 3 cops firing 51 bullets into an unarmed man - I can imagine many scenarios where they are acting in a valid manner.

It's obvious that you, like me, have never been in any such scenario. It wasn't a drawn out event where everyone had time to contemplate WTF they were doing.

[shropshire 0]

Them cops must have been scared shitless of that wall of NOTHING coming back at them, even of the 1st shot.

I agree with kschilk - 51 shots .vs. ZERO that's NONE, Fuck All, nada, nowt, Zip (get the point yet?) = Turkey Shoot - wankers. What the fuck were they worried about - hard stares or or foul language?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[kelpdiver 2]

oooh, look, an unarmed brit software guy talking about guns!

[shropshire 0]

I've shots few NATO rounds in my time.... them paper targets don't shoot back either but oww them guns don't 'arf bruise ones shoulder

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[n23x 0]

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So do you wait for the other guy to fire back to prove he has a gun? Or are you intelligent?

...

It's obvious that you, like me, have never been in any such scenario. It wasn't a drawn out event where everyone had time to contemplate WTF they were doing.

This defense is used often after these types of situations occur, but it's still wrong.

LEOs have a specific job to do, and as such, they must be able to perform well in high stress, high risk situations. If you cannot perform the appropriate actions in those instances, you shouldn't be a cop. Likewise, you shouldn't be a TI if you consistantly end up under a CYPRES-deployed reserve, agreed?

Pulling a weapon as a plainclothes cop, without clearly identifying yourself as such, is a MAJOR fuckup. Did that happen? We don't know for sure, but 2 witnesses say yes. Did the vehicle drive towards the cops? Once again, we don't know. Should the cops have been within close enough proximity to move out of the way without firing a LOT of bullets for fear of their lives? Many think so.

But then again, I'm not a LEO, so I don't know what it's like, right?

.jim

"Don't touch my fucking Easter eggs, I'll be back monday." ~JTFC

[kelpdiver 2]

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LEOs have a specific job to do, and as such, they must be able to perform well in high stress, high risk situations. If you cannot perform the appropriate actions in those instances, you shouldn't be a cop. Likewise, you shouldn't be a TI if you consistantly end up under a CYPRES-deployed reserve, agreed?

if we removed every cop that didn't meet these criteria we'd be in Mayberry. Most cops are not that great with guns, and with most rarely or never using their guns in such a situation, they don't have that experience. It's the TI who comes out once every 3 years.

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Pulling a weapon as a plainclothes cop, without clearly identifying yourself as such, is a MAJOR fuckup. Did that happen? We don't know for sure, but 2 witnesses say yes. Did the vehicle drive towards the cops? Once again, we don't know. Should the cops have been within close enough proximity to move out of the way without firing a LOT of bullets for fear of their lives? Many think so.

But then again, I'm not a LEO, so I don't know what it's like, right?

No, you're asking the correct questions. Should the confrontation have taken place? Did they fail to identify themselves, thus forcing the end result? I expect the trial centered on these...and they're open to discussion by outsiders as well.

The others are bleating about how 51 to 0 is like, totally unfair and overkill, dude! If the perp pulls out a toy gun, of course he gets shot and doesn't return fire. Would still be his fault. 51 rounds would be 3 cops emptying a 17 round magazine. This would be in 5 seconds time. If you're engaging in lethal force, you don't wait midway to see if he can fire back. That's the sort of idiocy that gets you shot.

BTW, how many of those 51 rounds actually hit the target? Aside from the FBI agents, cops are notoriously bad shots, as are most people under true stress. 10% would be normal.

[shropshire 0]

<>

Who? gives a shit? None should have been fired [Full Stop]

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[BillyVance 34]

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You have to at least admit the police might have a leg to stand on here, whereas the video evidence for the King beating left no doubt. Obviously the difference between having video and not. Apparently this trial had testimony from cops and from people with criminal pasts, and no one in between.

Unless there were 50 cops, there was no reason for there to be 50 shots fired...especially at close range and in an urban area. Clearly, none of those cops were competent.

And apparently, one of them took the time to eject the empty cartridge, load up a new one and continue firing.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[kschilk 0]

In a rapid-fire scenario, the first shot is the "money shot"...every trigger-pull after that, is pretty much just slingin' lead....don't care how good the shooter is. Three cops, 51(?) shots....each of them had to reload at least once so I'd have to say, at best...six shots had the potential to be somewhat accurate. That means there was a high risk of 45 dead, innocent pedestrians. That's pure recklessness...even Capone, would've considered that excessive.

As for the credibility issue....it was the testimony of one murderer, that put Charlie Manson and several of his followers in prison. If some street-thug, with a criminal record had been the only witness, to see the planes hit the WTC towers on 9/11....would we be denying that it ever happened?!

"T'was ever thus."

[CameraNewbie 0]

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I would be surprised if there wasn't a riot a-la Rodney King beat-down.

per Al Sharpton, they will only protest peacefully.

What do protesters want? Dead cops! When do they want it? Every 2 weeks!

[BillyVance 34]

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I would be surprised if there wasn't a riot a-la Rodney King beat-down.

per Al Sharpton, they will only protest peacefully.

If he can keep a riot from happening, good for him. It would be the first good thing he's done.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[GQ_jumper 4]

In a rapid-fire scenario, the first shot is the "money shot"...every trigger-pull after that, is pretty much just slingin' lead....don't care how good the shooter is. Three cops, 51(?) shots....each of them had to reload at least once so I'd have to say, at best...six shots had the potential to be somewhat accurate. That means there was a high risk of 45 dead, innocent pedestrians. That's pure recklessness...even Capone, would've considered that excessive.

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You should learn a thing or two about shooting, seriously, I can double-tap a target with my M4 and put both rounds within and inch of each other, and with a pistol I can unload an entire magazine inside a 3 inch target as fast as I can pull the trigger. So your rapid fire scenario theory is BS.

It blows my mind how up in arms everyone is getting about this verdict, if any other man was acquitted for murder because the prosecution couldn't prove he was guilty everyone would just shrug it off as the way the justice system works. But a black man is killed by police officers in a questionable situation and everyone loses their mind, do these men not deserve the same fairness from the justice system as anyone else?

Hell, I support the verdict just because the wonderful Rev. Sharpton is involved in this fiasco.

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

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[aprilcat 0]

Hell, I support the verdict just because the wonderful Rev. Sharpton is involved in this fiasco.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you're happy to see Sharpton up in arms about unarmed people being shot at?

And no, we're not rioting in the streets. We live and work here. This is our home. If people want to protest there is a right to. Sharpton doesn't lead anything but his sheep and if that wakes up a few people (someone else said blame whitey), then fine, lets all wake UP.

This is not a racial issue. This is a police training issue. These guys are supposed to be professionals and if they wanted to bust a strip bar for possible prostitution, why mess with a car of young men pulling out?

I know about as much as my dog about guns, but I know a vehicle doesn't need 51 shots unloaded. My ex used to take me target shooting and I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to drop a magazine and put in a new one. How's about ducking behind that big van they said Bell hit while they figured out if they were shooting back?

A bullet went into the elevated subway 2 blocks away (its on film) and sent passengers scurrying. Nice work, stupid cops.

But its all good cause you can look at Sharpton calling for some sense of justice. If HE is misguided, where do you stand on a statement like that?~~April

Camelot II, the Electric Boogaloo!

[n23x 0]

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It blows my mind how up in arms everyone is getting about this verdict...

See, I disagree, and more interestingly, didn't know there was a 'racial issue' about it, until i saw that Sharpton was involved.

I am not suprised that people are upset about it:

1.) Plainclothes officers (=civilian/thief/carjacking) drawing weapons, potentially not identifying themselves as LEO.

2.) The perceived/actual threat was responded to with deadly force. However, no weapon was found, and reference issue 1.

3.) Perceived EXCESS deadly force in terms of 50 fired bullets. Whether or not it was excessive, who knows.

It is commendable that you can get good grouping with your weapons. ALL people who may have to use deadly force for their job should be equivalently accurate, even in a stressful environment. Like I said, can't stand the heat, get the fuck out of the kitchen.

Skydiving parallel. It has been said in this thread that many officers do not fire their weapons much, are not great shots, etc.

What would our response be to a novice being put under a velo? Our response would be to, effectively, take that canopy away, whether it be through convincing them to get something else, banning them from flying at local DZs, etc. Obviously, a couple get through, and some don't die, but most are DGITs.

Should people have the same response to officers carrying deadly force?

I am all for officers having guns to protect themselves. With that same token, I think that, because they selected that as a job, they should err more on the side of preserving life, rather than taking life to protect perceived threats to their own. It sounds a little fucked up, but really, their lives aren't more important than potential perps, just equally important. People view their actions as 'jumping the gun', and, rightly so, are outraged.

.jim

"Don't touch my fucking Easter eggs, I'll be back monday." ~JTFC