Calm Prevails After Cops Acquitted In Bell Shooting
BY LINDA J. WILSON

Michigan Congressmember John Conyers (D), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, arrived in New York City on Monday, April 28 to meet with the family of a man fatally shot by police just hours before his wedding, promising a thorough federal investigation of the incident.

Michigan Congressmember John Conyers (D), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, arrived in New York City on Monday, April 28 to meet with the family of a man fatally shot by police just hours before his wedding, promising a thorough federal investigation of the incident.

Otherwise, protests were low-key on the weekend following the acquittal last Friday, April 24 of three New York City police detectives who were charged with killing Sean Bell and wounding Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, two of his friends, in a hail of 50 police bullets outside the Club Kalua in Jamaica on Nov. 25, 2006. Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper were acquitted after a non-jury trial before state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman. Oliver and Isnora were charged with manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment and could have faced up to 25 years in prison. Cooper was charged with reckless endangerment; a shot he fired hit a nearby AirTrain platform.

"The Bell family has consistently asked for peace since [Sean Bell's] shooting and their wishes should be granted," stated Helen Marshall.

The three detectives, members of an undercover squad that had spent part of the evening of November 25 in the Club Kalua in Jamaica as part of an investigation of the establishment, left at about the same time as Bell and his friends, who had been celebrating Bell's bachelor party, did. Later that same day, Bell was to have married his fiancée, Nicole Paultre, the mother of his two daughters. Paultre legally changed her name to Paultre- Bell after Bell's death.

After an altercation with several people, Bell, Guzman and Benefield got into Bell's car and Bell attempted to drive away. Meanwhile, the detectives, who testified that they had heard someone, believed to be Guzman, declare he was going to get a gun, fired some 50 shots at Bell's car. Bell died at the scene and Guzman and Benefield were severely injured.

Cooperman indicated that he found the officers' version of events was more credible than that of the victims. "The people have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that each defendant was not justified in firing," he said. "At times the [prosecution witnesses'] testimony just didn't make sense."

The issues surrounding the case were not resolved by the verdict. Guzman and Benefield have both filed $50 million claims against the city. Their cases could either go to trial or be settled out of court. Also, while the judge found that the officers' response was not criminal, he added, "Questions of carelessness and incompetence must be left to other forums." Those "other forums" include possible administrative charges that could result in dismissal for the officers, who were taken off undercover duty and put on paid leave after the incident.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for calm and peaceable political dissent after the verdict. "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," he said in a statement. "Today's decision is no different. There will be opportunities for peaceful dissent and potentially for further legal recourse- those are the rights we enjoy in a democratic nation."

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall agreed. "There is recourse to a higher court for those who think today's decision merits such action," she said after the verdict. She also called for calm. "The Bell family has consistently asked for peace since [Sean Bell's] shooting and their wishes should be granted."

State Senator Malcolm Smith led a peaceful demonstration protesting the verdict in St. Albans on the night of April 24.