Sean Bell's Loved Ones Awarded $7M in Civil Suit: Sean Bell Will Not Be Forgotten

Although a Supreme Justice, in 2008, acquitted the 3 indicted officers connected with the shooting death of Sean Bell and 2 others in 2006; the New York Council has handed down a $7 Million settlement to the children of the late Bell and the two men in his car that were wounded in the incident. The award was announced in 2010; about 4 years after the shooting death took place.

The Sean Bell Incident: Just outside the Club Kalua in Queens, three men were leaving the bachelor party of Sean Bell; Bell was to be married the next day to his girlfriend to whom he had two children with. On this night, November 25, 2006, Sean Bell, his front seat passenger Joseph Guzman, and backseat passenger Trent Benefield were shot at over 50 times by 5 undercover police officers for the NYPD.Sean Bell died in this incident while his two passengers were critically injured. Bell's autopsy report indicated Bell received four gun wounds to his neck and torso.

Front seat passenger, Guzman, 31 at the time, was struck by police gunfire 19 times, and backseat rider 25 year old Benefield was shot 3 times. No weapons were found in the possession of any of the men in the car.According to police reports, the officers were all in undercover clothes and were investigating a claim that prostitution was being fostered by the owner of the club the three men were at. Reports from the officers involved say that Guzman had a verbal altercation with a female and that another man in the group stated he was going for his gun.

The police officer, who heard this, Gescard Isnora, alerted others on the team to be on the lookout for the group. The three men, Bell, Guzman, and Benefield got into their car and were leaving the club when Officer Isnora, in plain clothes, stepped in front of the car with his gun drawn yelling for them to stop the car. Isnora claims he thought he saw Guzman draw for a weapon at which point Guzman yelled "Gun!" to his fellow officers and the 5 of them unleashed 50 bullets onto the car.

The rounds of bullets roundup:
* Detective Paul Headly fired (1) round
* Officer Michael Carez fired (3) rounds
* Officer Marc Cooper fired (4) rounds
* Officer Gescard Isnora fired (11) rounds
* Veteran Officer Michael Oliver fired (31) rounds; stopping to reload at least one time.

All officers plead not guilty to using unnecessary force, 3 were indicted and waived a jury hearing and opted for a bench hearing. The three officers were acquitted on all charges ranging from manslaughter to unnecessary force in April of 2008.

Surveillance cameras at a nearby port authority show a stray bullet from the shooting in the Sean Bell Incident hitting a window-shattering it and narrowly missing a citizen and 2 port authority employees nearly a block away from the incident.

Sean Bell Will Not be Forgotten
On May 18, 2010 the New York Council voted to name the Liverpool Street from 94th Ave to 101 Ave "Sean Bell Way" in memoriam of the late Sean Bell. Others have shown their respects to the former electrician in song. Various mainstream rappers have spoke out about the Sean Bell incident, have included his name in their CD's and even in their lyrics. Nicki Minaj's song, "New York Minute" references Sean Bell with the lyric "There's gotta be a heaven/Cause Sean Bell will never make it to his wedding."Sean Bells fiance,who he was set to wed the day after the shooting had her name legally changed to Nicole Paultre Bell. Nicole was also the mother of Bell's two children and no reports have been released as of now of how the $3.25 million awarded to each child will be handled.

Sources:
www.abc.com
www.associatedpress.com
www.wikipedia.com