Sean Bell, 23, was killed in Queens on November 25, 2006 in a hail of at least 50 gunshots. The incident reportedly stemmed from an argument outside of a club in Queens where Bell was holding a bachelor party prior to his wedding to fiancée Nicole Paultre. Police were in the process of investigating Club Kalua for prostitution allegations when a domestic disturbance reportedly caused them to begin observing Bell and his friends.
According to police, Bell was involved in a dispute outside the club involving a woman. One of Bell’s friends reportedly yelled “you, get my gun and kill that dumb white bitch.” The comment was overheard by an undercover officer who then followed Bell and his friends to their vehicle.
Conflicting reports from police officers and witnesses paint a confused picture of what happened next. According to one of the victims injured in the shootout, officers failed to identify themselves when they approached Bell and two friends with drawn weapons. Some witnesses reported that the officers began firing immediately without warning. The police officer who began shooting claims that he saw a man in the vehicle Bell was riding in with a drawn weapon. The man supposedly fled the scene as shooting broke out. However, no proof of the man’s existence was ever found.
Investigators found no gun at the scene.
Prosecutors argued that Oliver would have found there was no threat if he had “paused to reassess” while firing the 31 shots. They said that Cooper fired wildly, with one of his shots even hitting an elevated airport train station. And they alleged that Isnora failed to display his badge in a clearly visible manner and wait for backup, and gave contradictory orders to Bell and his friends.
According to the police, Bell was drunk and was ordered to stop, which he didn’t do, and tried to run the police over in his car. He HIT AN OFFICER WITH HIS CAR and tried to run the others over as well. He was NOT shot 50 times. 50 shots were fired at the car and Bell was hit four times.
Bell was supposed to be married at Community Baptist Church in Jamaica the same day of the shooting. On Thursday night, that hallowed ground became the site of a spiritual rally of sorts as an entire city waited for a verdict that had been anticipated for months.
Inspirational words were uttered by the Rev. Al Sharpton for the community and Sean’s family.
The Detectives faced up to 25 years behind bars for manslaughter charges. But were acquitted.
This is a travesty of justice. Any decent prosecutor could get a guilty verdict in this case
