Sean Bell, an African American, was shot and killed by undercover New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in the borough of Queens on November 25, 2006. Bell and two of his friends were shot when both plainclothes and undercover NYPD officers fired a total of 50 rounds. Bell's friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, were severely wounded. The incident sparked fierce criticism of the New York City Police Department from members of the public and drew comparisons to the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo. Three of the five detectives involved in the shooting went to trialA. Baker, 50-Shot Barrage Leads to Charges for 3 Detectives, The New York Times, March 17, 2007. on charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter, first- and second-degree assault, and second-degree reckless endangerment; they were found not guilty.Not Guilty: Detectives Charged In Sean Bell Shooting Acquitted On All Counts , NY1 News, April 25, 2008
Background Born on May 18, 1983, Bell was 23 years old at the time of his death. He was a nephew of college basketball coach Frank Haith. Bell was a pitcher on the baseball team for John Adams High School in Ozone Park, and also studied acting in Flushing, QueensCarrie Melago, "Drama Teacher Recalls Bell had His Act Together", New York Daily News, December 16, 2006, p. 6 and worked odd jobs after the birth of his daughter, Jada, on December 16, 2002. His fiancée, Nicole Paultre, told Larry King that Bell was studying to be an electrician.
Shooting incident On the night of his death, Bell was hosting a bachelor party at Club Kalua, a strip club that was being investigated by undercover police over accusations that the owners fostered prostitution.For Owners of Club in Police Shooting Case, Years of Raids and Suits, December 3, 2006. The New York Post reported that Joseph Guzman had an argument with a man outside the bar, and threatened to get a gun. One of Bell's friends reportedly said, "Yo, get my gun," as they left the club. Thinking a shooting was about to take place, a plainclothes officer named Gescard Isnora followed Bell and his companions. He alerted his backup team, who confronted Bell and his companions outside. According to Isnora, he "held out his badge, identified himself as a police officer, and ordered the driver to stop".Heather Mac Donald. Time for the Truth About Black Crime Rates , City Journal, April 2, 2007 Instead, Bell accelerated the car, striking Isnora, and then collided with an unmarked police minivan.C. Buckley, W.K. Rashbaum. "A Day After a Fatal Shooting, Questions, Mourning and Protest." The New York Times, November 27, 2006 Isnora said he saw Guzman reach for a gun. He yelled a warning to the other policemen, and they opened fire on the car to prevent the possible shooting by Guzman. Five policemen joined in, firing about 50 bullets into Bell's car.
Witness accounts of the event conflict with the account provided by police. According to Joseph Guzman, the plainclothes detectives never identified themselves as they approached with their weapons drawn. According to the, New York Daily News, December 5, 2006 New York Daily News, witnesses claimed the officers failed to warn Bell before opening fire, beginning to shoot as soon as they left their cars."Mayor says 'excessive force' used in stag party shooting", Irish Examiner, November 27, 2006. Retrieved on November 30, 2006. A toxicology report showed that Bell was legally intoxicated at the time he was shot. An attorney for Bell's family replied, "No matter what his blood-alcohol level was, he's a victim."Officials: Police shooting victim was intoxicated behind wheel Associated Press, December 22, 2006. Retrieved on April 25, 2008.
Isnora, the officer who initiated the shooting, claimed later that he saw a fourth man in the car who fled the scene, possibly with the alleged weapon. It was speculated that one of Bell's friends, Jean Nelson, was the fourth man. Nelson admitted that he was present but denied being in the car or having a weapon.Associated Press, "Man Denies Being Figure in NYC Shooting". The New York Times. December 12, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2006.Juan Gonzalez "Fourth Man: My Story," New York Daily News, December 15, 2006 Critics suggest that Isnora fabricated the alleged presence of a fourth man to justify the shooting and to avoid being convicted by a jury. New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez reported that in the hours immediately after the shooting, there was no mention of a fourth man in police calls, and no search was launched for the alleged armed man. This contradicts claims that the police searched the neighborhood for a missing man.J. Gonzalez, "No dragnet for 'fourth man'", New York Daily News, December 12, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2006. According to The New York Times, a preliminary police report said:
... there was no meaningful discussion of a fourth man, a mysterious figure who some in the Police Department have suggested may have been present along with the three men who were shot. None of the witnesses whose accounts are in the report speaks of someone who may have fled — perhaps possessing a gun — and there are no indications that the police at the time were seeking anyone who may have left the scene.W.K. Rashbaum, A. Baker, "50 Bullets, One Dead, and Many Questions". The New York Times, 11 December 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2006.
According to Michael Palladino, head of the police detectives union, a man working as a janitor in a nearby building told the detectives that he had seen a black man fleeing the scene, and that the man had fired at least once at the police. The janitor claimed he had then heard a detective shouting "police, police". However, ballistic evidence showed no evidence of any weapon having been fired except those of the officers.Surprise Witness Testifies Before Grand Jury In Bell Case , NY1 News, March 15, 2007.
In an interview on Larry King Live, Al Sharpton, accompanied by Paultre, stated that according to his conversations with eyewitnesses, none of the three men mentioned a gun while leaving the club. Sharpton also said that it would have been impossible for anyone in the car to have heard the police; he said they were likely in fear that they were being car-jacked.Transcript from Larry King Live interview with Nicole Paultre and Al Sharpton. CNN, Aired December 4, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2006. The NYPD Detectives union and others complained that the payments brought into question the witnesses' credibility. Sharpton replied, "How can [the Detectives Endowment Association] support the detectives and I can't support the victims?"
Five of the seven officers took part in the shooting. Detective Paul Headley fired one shot. Officer Michael Carey fired three times. Officer Marc Cooper shot four times, and Officer Gescard Isnora eleven. Veteran officer Michael Oliver emptied two full magazines, firing 31 times with a 9mm handgun, pausing to reload at least once.For 5 Officers, No Shots Fired for Years, and Then 50 at Once The New York Times. November 29, 2006.Two Officers Speak to Grand Jury On Killing of Unarmed Black Man The New York Times. March 6, 2007.Undercover Detective Who Fired First Shot Testifies in Police Killing in Queens The New York Times. March 8, 2007.
An autopsy showed that Bell had been struck four times in the neck and torso.Stacey Francisco, Terry Frieden and Ellen Rose (November 29, 2006). N.Y. mayor meets with dead groom's family. CNN Guzman was shot 19 times,"Doctor Tells of a 19-Gunshot-Wound Survivor ". The New York Times. April 2, 2008. and Benefield, who was in the back seat of the vehicle, was hit three times. Guzman and Benefield were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. Guzman was listed in critical condition, and Benefield was in stable condition; both men survived the shooting."Police fire 50 rounds, kill groom on day of wedding", CNN, November 26, 2006. Benefield was released from the hospital on December 5, 2006,"Man Wounded in Queens Shooting Leaves the Hospital". The New York Times. December 6, 2006. while Guzman was released on January 25, 2007."N.Y. police shooting survivor recalls friend's last words". CNN. January 25, 2007. Surveillance cameras at the Port Authority's Jamaica AirTrain station a half block away from the shooting site recorded one of the bullets shattering the station's glass window, narrowly missing a bystander and two Port Authority patrolmen standing on the elevated platform.Democracy Now, Report on AirTran station surveillance videos , December 14, 2006.
Response to the shooting New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "it sounds to me like excessive force was used,"J. Holusha, D. Cardwell. "Mayor Says Shooting Was "Excessive." New York Times, November 27, 2006. Retrieved on November 27, 2006 and called the shooting "inexplicable" and "unacceptable". Ex-New York State governor George E. Pataki also stated that he thought the shooting was excessive. NYC police commissioner Raymond Kelly put the five officers involved on paid administrative leave and stripped them of their weapons, a move the New York Times called "forceful". He told the Times that the officers were stripped of their guns because "there were, and are, too many unanswered questions". Both Bloomberg and Kelly also noted that the shooting was possibly in violation of department guidelines prohibiting shooting at a moving vehicle, even if the vehicle is being used as a weapon. The Public Advocate extended condolences to Bell's former fiancée and family following the killing."Residents Need Answers on Tragic Queens Shooting ". Public Advocate for the City of New York Newsletter. December 4, 2006.
Thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the amount of force used the weekend following Bell's death, with protests continuing into the following week.A. Gendar, S. Schifrel, B. Hutchinson. "Anger in street". New York Daily News, November 27, 2006. Retrieved on November 27, 2006"Heart of Darkness: Pursuing Justice and Keeping Sean Bell's Memory Alive". The Indypendent, January 10, 2007.
Some noted the similarity between this incident and past shootings of unarmed people, such as Amadou Diallo and Ousmane Zongo."50 Shots Fired, and the Experts Offer a Theory". The New York Times. November 27, 2006. The family designated Al Sharpton as their advisor."Police Commissioner Looks Ahead, and Back". New York Times. November 30, 2006.
On December 7, 2006, Nicole Paultre legally changed her name to Nicole Paultre Bell to "honor the memory" of Bell."Fiancé of Man Killed by Police Takes His Name". New York Times. December 8, 2006. New York State laws require a couple to obtain a marriage license prior to a wedding, and "although the marriage license is issued immediately, the marriage ceremony may not take place within 24 hours from the exact time that the license was issued"."Getting Married in New York State". New York State Department of Health. According to Nicole Paultre's attorney, a posthumous wedding was impossible since no marriage license had yet been signed.
On March 5, 2007, it was announced that a Rikers Island inmate offered to pay an undercover police officer posing as a hitman to behead New York City police commissioner Raymond Kelly and bomb police headquarters in retaliation for the incident."Kelly hit plan foiled". Newsday, March 6, 2007."Lawyer: 'Ill' Man Allegedly Targeted NYPD Commish ". WCBS-TV. March 6, 2007