International   

Detectives cleared over killing groom in hail of bullets

Washington: A judge in New York has cleared three detectives on all charges involved in the killing of Sean Bell, bridegroom who died in a hail of 50 police bullets outside a nightclub hours before his wedding.

Outside the crowded courtroom, where demonstrators carried signs reading “50 shots isn’t justice”, there were shouts, tears and anger as the verdict was pronounced. Some protesters shouted “murderers”.

The verdict was met with quiet tears from Bell’s mother.

Police blocked off the steps of the courthouse with metal barricades, and hustled the three detectives away through a side door.

Bell (23) had just left his stag party at a club in Jamaica, Queens, when he was shot and killed on November 25 2006. Two of his friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, were also wounded as the three plain-clothed police detectives opened fire on Bell’s car.

All three of the men in the car were unarmed and the shooting — which recalled a 1999 episode in which an unarmed immigrant Amadou Diallo was shot dead by police — brought fierce criticism of the detectives.

But after a seven-week trial, Judge Arthur Cooperman ruled that the three police officers, Michael Oliver (36), Gescard Isnora (29), and Marc Cooper (40), bore no criminal responsibility for the death of Bell or the wounding of his friends.

Mr. Oliver and Mr. Isnora, who were charged with manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment, had faced a maximum of 25 years in prison. Mr. Cooper had faced a single charge of reckless endangerment.The three had elected to be tried before a judge, rather than a jury.

In his verdict, the judge said he simply did not believe the testimony of many of the prosecution’s witnesses, including Bell’s two wounded companions on that night. “The testimony of those witnesses just didn’t make sense,” he said.

Bell’s parents sat in silence as the judge gave his decision, but his fiancee Nicole Paultre Bell walked out. Other spectators erupted in disbelief. “Did he just say, not guilty?” one woman was reported as saying.

However, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who had been critical of the shooting, said the judge had followed his duty to decide the case on evidence presented in his courtroom.

The events of that November night began when Bell and his friends got into an argument outside the club.

The party had no idea that the Club Kahlua was under police surveillance as part of an investigation into prostitution. Mr. Oliver, Mr. Isnora and Mr. Cooper had recently come on shift when the argument erupted. A number of witnesses testified that they heard talk of guns during the argument, and that Mr. Guzman had said: “Yo, go get my gun.”

The detectives decided to follow Bell and his friends out to their car. They told the court they feared that talk of guns during the argument could lead to a shooting. According to Mr. Isnora, he then identified himself as a police detective, clipping his badge on his collar and shouting out: “Police”.

But Mr. Guzman and Mr. Benefield said they heard no warning and had no idea that Mr. Isnora was with the police when he walked up to their car with his gun drawn. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

No damage in LTTE raid: Colombo
Political temperature rises in Pakistan
Talks on re-locating Madu statue
Price decline soon: report
Israel terms for Gaza truce
Detectives cleared over killing groom in hail of bullets
Probe into murder
Eco-consciousness
Lakshmi Mittal remains richest man in Britain

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu