Judge Clears Cops in Groom's Slaying

AP,

Posted: 2008-04-25 11:52:02

Filed Under: Top News

NEW YORK (April 25) - Three New York City police officers were found innocent of all charges Friday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day.

Justice Arthur Cooperman cleared two officers of manslaughter and other charges and a third of reckless endangerment in the death of Sean Bell , 23, who was shot, along with two friends, after a bachelor party at a strip club in November 2006. The case has generated outrage in New York's black community

Cooperman was to deliver a verdict Friday morning in the closely watched case of Sean Bell, who was gunned down outside a Queens strip club where he was having a bachelor party. Three undercover detectives charged in the shooting chose to have the judge decide, rather than a jury.

Sean Bell Case

Valerie Bell, right, mother of the late Sean Bell, meets singer Patti LaBelle on stage during the "Divas With Heart" concert at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, May 4, 2008. LaBelle had invited Bell onto the stage during her song, "Two Steps." The concert benefits the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory in Utica, N.Y. (AP Photo/Scott Wynn/Scott Wynn Photography)

Nicole Paultre Bell (L) and Trent Benefield (C) listen as Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Nicole Paultre Bell (L) and Trent Benefield listen as Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Nicole Paultre Bell (L) listens as Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Sean Bell's fiance, Nicole Paultre Bell, holds her daughter Jordyn during a news conference Sunday, April 27, 2008 at National Action headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

People block the intersection of 125th Street and 7th Ave. during march to protest the acquittal of the three NYPD detectives on all charges stemming from the November 2006 killing of Sean Bell Sunday, April 27, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

Sean Bell's fiance, Nicole Paultre Bell, 3rd -left, sits with her mother, 2nd-left and shooting victim Joseph Guzman, 2nd-right, as Rev. Al Sharpton speaks, Sunday, April 27, 2008 at National Action headquarters in New York. The women at far right and left are unidentified. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

If convicted of manslaughter and other charges, detectives Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver could have faced up to 25 years in prison. Detective Marc Cooper, charged only with reckless endangerment, faced up to one year behind bars.

Bell, 23, was killed and two friends were seriously wounded early on the morning of Nov. 25, 2006 - Bell's wedding day. The shooting sparked protests and raised questions about police firepower and undercover tactics.

Defense attorneys painted the victims as drunken thugs who the officers believed were armed and dangerous. Prosecutors sought to convince the judge that the victims had been minding their own business and that the officers were inept, trigger-happy aggressors.

"This F-Troop of a unit caused the death of an innocent man and caused the injury of two others," prosecutor Charles Testagrossa said, referring to the classic TV sitcom. "This was a slipshod operation, with no real planning."

Bell's fiancee, parents and their supporters, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and other activists, have demanded that the officers be held accountable. Sharpton said he has sought to temper outrage over the shooting of three unarmed black men and let the trial take its course. Two of the three officers are black.

"We gave the city an opportunity to show that we would be a new city of fairness," he told reporters at City Hall earlier this week.

Even with an acquittal, authorities predict calm will prevail.

"We certainly don't expect violence," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday.

The defendants, who were investigating reports of prostitution at the Kalua Cabaret, say they became alarmed when they heard Bell and his friends trade insults around the 4 a.m. closing time with another patron who appeared to be armed. In grand jury testimony, Isnora claimed that he overheard one of Bell's companions, Joseph Guzman, say, "Yo, go get my gun."

Isnora responded by trailing Bell, Guzman and Trent Benefield to Bell's car. He insisted that he ordered the men to halt and that he and other officers began shooting only after Bell bumped him with his car and slammed into an unmarked police van while trying to flee.

Guzman and Benefield both played down the dispute outside the club. They also testified that they were unaware police were watching them and that the gunfire erupted without warning.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. 2008-04-25 08:50:40

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-03-17 17:34:33

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