Groom Shot and Killed by Police Hours Before Wedding
Police fired 50 rounds Saturday at a car carrying Bell and two other men who were lleaving a bachelor party at a strip club. The killings have caused and outcry from the community and civil rights leaders.
The shootings happened around 4 a.m. Saturday outside the Kalua Cabaret in Queens.
Bell was struck twice. The survivors were Joseph Guzman, 31, who was shot at least 11 times, and Trent Benefield, 23, who was hit three times. Guzman was in critical condition Sunday and Benefield was stable.
The officers' shots struck the men's car 21 times as well as nearby homes. As of yet no other injuries have been reported.
Police thought that one of the victims had a gun, but investigators have found no weapon.
"We cannot allow this to continue to happen," the Rev. Al Sharpton said at the gathering outside Mary Immaculate Hospital, where one of the two wounded men was in critical condition. "We've got to understand that all of us were in that car."
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has stated that Bell was involved in a verbal dispute with one of his friends outside the club and there was mention of a gun.
Undercover officers then followed closely behind Bell and his friends as they walked to their car. Then according to Kelly, as the officer walked towards the front of the vehicle, the car drove forward striking the officer and a minivan. The undercover officer was one of the first to open fire at the car.
It was said that at one point Bell backed the car on the sidewalk, striking the vehicle again.
But a witness account emerged Monday disputing Kelly's version of the events.
Trini Wright, a dancer at the strip club where Bell's bachelor party was held, told the Daily News she was going to a diner with the men and she was putting her makeup bag in the trunk of their car when she saw the police minivan appear.
"The minivan came around the corner and smashed into their car. And they (the police) jumped out shooting," Wright, 28, told the newspaper for Monday editions. "No 'stop.' No 'freeze.' No nothing."
Several hundred people gathered Sunday for a vigil and rally demanding to know why officers shot numerous rounds at 23-year-old Sean Bell . Some of the ralliers called for the removed of Commisoner Kelly.
Bell's family and finacee were present at the rally but did not speak.
The five officers have been placed on paid administrative leave and stripped of their guns, said Paul Browne, chief spokesman for the NYPD. Police and prosecutors promised a full investigation.
Community leaders planned a rally December 6 at police headquarters.
Published by Sin Lucas
Sindy is the editor-in-chief for The Silver Tongue. Visit them daily at www.thesilvertongueonline.com. View profile
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14 Comments
Post a CommentWhat is this... I don't even... Wow...
Several things bother me here, but one of them is this: this incident doesn't stop at racism, this incident doesn't stop at common sense.
No, this incident goes further, deeper into men being paid to be belligerent a$$wipes on power trips, who then get PAID after they do something wrong.
I guess, the truth is, you can't pay people enough to give a crap about their job, but you sure as hell shouldn't reward them for not.
Look at the number of bullets fired. Does that not seem unnecessary to anyone else involved in the case?
What, because they're black they have bulletproof skin and therefore must be shot more?
Or did the officers just want to feel like they were in an action movie? This is @#$%ing ridiculous. Today's police officers are a (as a general rule, now, I'm not saying ALL) disgrace to what officers used to be, should have been, should be, and will never be again.
The actions of these officers, are not only overdone,
"anonymous" - how does the opening paragraph have us believe the victim was about to commit polygamy? I think your need to make yourself feel superior by pointing out someone's typing errors is preventing you from seeing your own errors.
Just because your in the armed forces doesn't make you a good person and just because your a cop doesn't make you one either. These people are human just like us. They have good and bad in them just like us.
thanks for the compliment! Despite what i believe i try to give everyone the facts first and my opinion last. it makes for better conversation.
Sindy, I really enjoyed your article. It seems to me that you acted as a reporter when writing, you didn't take one side or the other. You tried to be as factual as possible. I'm not quite sure how anyone can read your article and come to the conclusion that you have "disdain" for the police... In every institution they're good and bad people. People really need to realize that. I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
"Keep encouraged."
Rain
Sindy, Thank you for writing this excellant piece.
Such hatred for a group of people that protect society (for the most part) is kinda sickening. It's like talking to a soldier and saying their effort is worthless, except this is on the homefront. Also it is proven that eye witnesses are not 100% accurate, the mind plays a huge role in what people see, especially in such hectic situations. Since the officers are more prone to this danger, but can manage it better, i'd take their words anyway. But then that leads to bias decisions... hm... decisions, decisions. I do admit, there are crooked cops out there, and this can be a possible case of that, but I don't want to jump to irrational conclusions unlike some others.
who labeled it as racism. from what i hear some of the officers were minorities....the point is that they killed an unarmed man for no good reason, believe the stripper or not but at this point i'd take a stripper, a hooker, even elmo's word over the police.
It is certainly possible that it is racially motivated, but that is assuming a lot at this point, since there is so little known at this time. For one thing, that is assuming that none of the officers were members of minority groups, which is reaching right there. It is also assuming that the stripper's testimony is true. It's going to be hard for her testimony to outweigh that of an eyewitness and five police officers, but it certainly could happen. But at such an early stage, it seems a little irresponsible to label it as racism. After a trial, or at least after a few more witnesses speak, it should become clearer what this was about.
I think saying that ALL police officers are power hungry and racially motivated. Thats as stereotypical as saying all cops crave donuts. The story is sad, and I am sad for the what would have been the future Mrs. Bell and their children. Any way you look at it, 50 bullets is excessive unless there was more people than there is said to be. The police may have been scared when shooting, losing their sanity momentarily in the process. I mean, they did get hit by some bullets.