NYPD officers charged with manslaughter

[mcpeepants]

NYPD officers charged with manslaughter

By TOM HAYS and PAT MILTON, Associated Press Writers Tue Mar 20, 7:23 AM ET

NEW YORK - The last time Joseph Guzman encountered the three police officers, they pulled their weapons and fired a barrage of bullets that killed his friend, Sean Bell, on what would have been his wedding day.
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On Monday he faced them again, glaring at them from his wheelchair in a Queens courtroom as their lawyers entered not guilty pleas to manslaughter, assault and other charges.

The indictments of the officers were unsealed Monday in a packed, tension-filled courtroom as the victims and their families looked on.

Detectives Michael Oliver, who fired 31 times, and Gescard Isnora, a decorated undercover officer who fired 11 times, were charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter.

If convicted of the most serious charges, the detectives would receive mandatory prison time — up to 25 years.

Oliver also was charged with endangerment for a bullet that smashed through the window of an occupied house. And a third officer, Detective Marc Cooper, was charged with a misdemeanor for a bullet that struck a train station across the street.

"I want everyone to know that we lost somebody dear and we are going to fight all the way until we get justice," Guzman said outside court. He stood up from his wheelchair to reach a microphone.

Another victim of the shooting, Trent Benefield, attended the 20-minute arraignment along with Nicole Paultre Bell, who was engaged to Bell and legally took his name after he died.

Before the proceeding, Bell's mother, wearing buttons with photographs of her son, leaned forward, bowed her head, closed her eyes and placed her hands together.

Oliver's attorney, Jim Culleton, described his client after the hearing as "visibly upset and shaken."

"This is an indictment. It is proof of absolutely nothing. It's merely an accusation."

Said Cooper's attorney, Paul Martin: "He has given 17 years of his life to the NYPD, and to see him now as a defendant is very upsetting and disappointing."

The officers' union, the Detectives' Endowment Association, put up the cash for Oliver's and Isnora's bail, which was set at $100,000 each; Cooper was released without bail. Defense attorneys were considering whether to argue that the trial should be moved out of Queens because of negative publicity, said Michael Palladino, the union president.

"I can tell you we will commence a vigorous defense," he said.

The case renewed allegations that the NYPD is trigger-happy, and sparked protests by activists who say the department is too quick to judge black men harshly, a claim city officials deny. Bell was black, as are Guzman and Benefield. Cooper, 39, and Isnora, 28, are also black; Oliver, 35, is white.

Bell, 23, was killed after his bachelor party at a strip club where the officers were conducting an undercover operation in response to complaints about prostitution.

Union representatives and lawyers for the officers have said their clients were convinced that Bell and his friends were going to retrieve a gun from his car to settle a dispute and that Bell slammed his car into two unmarked police vehicles while trying to flee.

Two other policemen who fired their weapons were not charged but are on desk duty along with their supervisor amid an NYPD internal investigation.

The Rev.
Al Sharpton, who has spoken for the victims' families, said the indictments fell short.

"Clearly, all five officers should be charged," he said. "All officers acted in concert."

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly vowed Monday that the department would intensify training and community relations in response to the tensions created by the shooting.

"The police department will redouble its efforts to build the best possible relations with all of New York City's diverse communities through continued improvements in police training, recruitment and community outreach," he said in a statement.

[godkilla]

i think i read about this on this sight when it first happened. from what i remember the guy was making threats involving a gun b4 he went to his vehicle. then he almost ran over an undercover agent and i guess thats why they started firing. if this is true he deserved to be shot. you dont threat an undercover officer with gun threats and then try and run him over......sheesh.

[Logan13]

i think i read about this on this sight when it first happened. from what i remember the guy was making threats involving a gun b4 he went to his vehicle. then he almost ran over an undercover agent and i guess thats why they started firing. if this is true he deserved to be shot. you dont threat an undercover officer with gun threats and then try and run him over......sheesh.

Alot of black leaders were screaming racism on this one, even though two of the three officers charged are black. Fact is, people make mistakes, especially when your job puts your life at risk on a daily basis. If this "victim" had just been another cop-killer, the media would not even bother writing a follow-up story on it.......

[singern]

I think the real issue isnt whether he was innocent or not, but why was it necessary to fire fifty some bullets. Do these officers just have terrible aim, or were they so afraid of this one man that they emptied and reloaded and kept shooting.

Smells fishy enough to warrant The indictments, so we will see.

[Act of God]

another conveniently left out fact is all of those dudes had prior criminal records, they aren't the saints the media wants them to look like.

I GUARANTEE something went down other than the crime of "being black at night"

[mcpeepants]

another conveniently left out fact is all of those dudes had prior criminal records, they aren't the saints the media wants them to look like.

I GUARANTEE something went down other than the crime of "being black at night"

having a criminal record doesn't mean they were performing a crime that night or deserved to be killed.

[Dude-Man]

Too many bullets.

[Act of God]

having a criminal record doesn't mean they were performing a crime that night or deserved to be killed.

You are correct, absolutely not. This is still one-sided reporting, which I do not like. Knowing that every one of those dudes has been in trouble with the law before might cast a little doubt as to the story they are claiming that they were doing nothing wrong to provoke the shooting...that's all.

[scriptfactory]

Too many bullets.

Yep. Way too many... unless they were trying to stop an elephant or something.

[Act of God]

Before anyone rounds up the lynching team (I found a source for what I posted earlier)....

* All three men had arrest records (even if cops didn't know it at the time): Bell had been nabbed twice for drugs and once on a gun rap; Guzman, nine times, including for armed robbery, and Benefield for gun possession and robbery.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11282006...ls_.htm?page=0

[BgMc31]

Logan, no one is screaming racism, especially considering one of the cops was black and one was hispanic.

Act of God, who cares if the cats had criminal records. The cops didn't know that and everyone with a criminal record shouldn't be shot on site. As far as talking crap to an undercover cop, he was an UNDERCOVER cop. Who knows if the guy identified himself. Since when does it take 50 shots to subdue someone who talked shit to a cop. No matter how you spin it, unless the cops were in immediate danger, which it appear they weren't, this shooting was unjustified. And if someone pulled a gun on me and I'm in my car, you better believe I would run attempt to escape and if he happened to be in the way, he'd get rundown as well.

[Logan13]

Logan, no one is screaming racism, especially considering one of the cops was black and one was hispanic.

Associated Press 03/19/07:
"The case renewed allegations that the NYPD is trigger-happy, as well as accusations of racism. Bell was black, as are the other victims; three of the officers are black, and two are white." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...a045036D12.DTL

I am trying to find the video of a well known (but obviously not to me) black leader calling for blacks to take to the streets and fight the racism, "by any means necessary".........

[Bigen12]

The number of shots is irrelevant.


Think about it this way, a guy is threatening to kill you and your fellow officers, and acting on that threat, do you

A Only shoot once and take a risk that they guy will still be able to kill you.
B Shoot until you are positive that the threat is eliminated.

Come on be honest.