Three NYC detectives have been acquitted on all charges, including manslaughter for two of them, in the "50 shots" death of would-be bridgegroom Sean Bell.
Three detectives were found not guilty Friday morning on all charges in the November, 2006, shooting death of Sean Bell, who died in a hail of 50 police bullets outside a club in Jamaica, Queens.
The verdict prompted several supporters of Mr. Bell to storm out of the courtroom, and screams could be heard in the hallway moments later.The verdict comes 17 months to the day since the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting of Mr. Bell, 23, and his friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, outside the Club Kalua in Jamaica, Queens, hours before Mr. Bell was to be married.
It was delivered in a pack courtroom and was heard by, among others, the slain man’s parents and his fiancee. About 150 Bell supporters had been gathered outside the Queens Criminal Court building before the verdict, handing out leaflets.
The seven-week trial, which ended April 14, was heard by Justice Arthur J. Cooperman of State Supreme Court in Queens. The defendants waived their right to a jury in January, a strategy some lawyers called risky at the time. But it clearly paid off with Friday’s verdict.The detectives were charged collectively with committing eight crimes amid the 50 gunshots that brought worldwide attention. Detectives Isnora and Oliver faced the most charges: first- and second-degree manslaughter, with a possible sentence of 25 years in prison; felony assault, first and second degree; and a misdemeanor, reckless endangerment, with a possible one-year sentence. Detective Oliver also faces a second count of first-degree assault. Detective Marc Cooper was charged only with two counts of reckless endangerment.
During the 26 days of testimony, the prosecution sought to show, with an array of 50 witnesses, that the shooting was the act of a frightened, even enraged group of disorganized police officers who began their shift that night hoping to arrest a prostitute or two and, in suspecting Mr. Bell and his friends of possessing a gun, quickly got in over their heads.
“We ask police to risk their lives to protect ours,” said an assistant district attorney, Charles A. Testagrossa, in his closing arguments. “Not to risk our lives to protect their own.”
The defense, through weeks of often heated cross-examinations, their own witnesses and the words of the detectives themselves, portrayed the shooting as the tragic end to a nonetheless justified confrontation, with Detective Isnora having what it called solid reasons to believe he was the only thing standing between Mr. Bell’s car and a drive-by shooting around the corner. ...
The defense argument won. Now, New York City is bracing for the reaction (and the Sharpton). It will be interesting to see if the reaction is any different because two of the cops are Black ... Meanchilw, the Daily News' Denis Hamil talkes to a couple of lawyers who fault the prosecution. An interesting piece of news:
Another lawyer, who preferred to remain nameless, who used to work for the Queens district attorney's office, said politics is the only reason the case was brought to trial.
He said there was an angry split in the Queens DA's office over bringing an indictment. One faction led by Jack Ryan, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown's top aide, argued that there wasn't enough evidence. The other faction said prosecutors owed it to Sean Bell's loved ones, the shooting victims and "the community."
"Traditionally, the Queens DA's office assembled their best ADAs and made them build a great defense of the suspect," the lawyer said. "If the defense was stronger than the prosecution's case, you didn't go into the grand jury. Judging by his own admission during summation that he could not vouch for some of his own witnesses, it's difficult to believe that [lead prosecutor Charles] Testagrossa could have analyzed this case and come away convinced the prosecution had a more compelling case than the defense."
As awful it is for Bell's family and fiancee, the result here is not much of a surprise. Police officers are rarely convicted in shooting cases like this one, since their lattitude on the use of force is so broad, and juries tend to give them the benefit of the doubt, particularly if the defense can get a jury, frankly, that's mostly non-Black. [Sidebar: the verdicts in this case came from a judge. Apparently the defendants waived their right to a jury trial.]
Just keeping it real.
Update: MSNBC just showed a growing crowd outside the Queens courtroom. A Sharpton appearance is imminent, apparently.
Update 2: Mayor Bloomberg and police chief Ray Kelly have issued statements on the verdicts. Bloomberg's reads in part:
There are no winners in a trial like this. 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. Judge Cooperman’s responsibility, however, was to decide the case based on the evidence presented in the courtroom. 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. 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. We don’t expect violence or law-breaking, nor is there any place for it. We have come too far as society – and as a City – to be dragged back to those days.
And Kelly wouldn't comment on the verdicts, but did react to the gathering protests:
I cannot make any comment on the verdict because any disciplinary action that might emanate from this case will ultimately come before me. We have been asked by the U.S. attorney to hold up any disciplinary proceedings until they make a determination whether or not they are going to be involved in this matter. So we’ll await word from the U.S. attorney before we will proceed with any formal investigation.
There have been no problems. Obviously there will be some people who are disappointed with the verdict. We understand that. We have had no history of violence since this incident began as far as the vigils, the memorial services are concerned. We don’t anticipate violence but we are prepared for any contingency.
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"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
