Posted on 11/27/2006 12:36:57 PM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK - Mayor Michael Bloomberg was "deeply disturbed" by the barrage of gunfire unleashed by officers in a weekend shooting that killed a groom on his wedding day, the mayor said Monday.
"I can tell you that it is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired, but that's up to the investigation to find out what really happened," Bloomberg said after meeting with community leaders at City Hall.
Bloomberg was joined by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record) and several other officials at the meeting.
Sharpton called it a "very candid, a very blunt meeting." He said the message to Bloomberg was: "This city must show moral outrage that 50 shots were fired on three unarmed men."
Bloomberg was steadfast in his support for Kelly, who has been denounced by some community leaders over the shooting.
"I think he's the best police commissioner the city has ever had," Bloomberg said. "Nobody takes this more seriously than Commissioner Kelly and I do."
Police fired an estimated 50 rounds at the groom, Sean Bell, 23, and two other unarmed men in a car early Saturday, hours before he was to have married the mother of his two children.
Five officers were 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.
"This warrants an answer," Rangel said as he arrived for the meeting. "Not just to the families of those that were shot and killed but to the people of the city of New York."
On Sunday, several hundred people held a vigil for Bell, some shouting "No justice, no peace!" and demanding Kelly's ouster.
Kelly has said police shot at the car after it drove forward and struck an undercover officer and an unmarked police minivan. The information was based on interviews with witnesses and two officers who did not fire their weapons, he said.
However, 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 was putting her makeup bag in the trunk of their car when the police minivan appeared.
"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."
Kelly had said Saturday it was too early to say whether the shooting was justified. He said it was unclear whether the officers, who were in plain clothes, identified themselves before firing.
Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre, made a quiet visit to the site of his shootings before dawn Monday, lighting candles clustered around a photograph of the smiling couple with one of their daughters.
The shootings occurred after 4 a.m. Saturday outside the Kalua Cabaret in Queens. Kelly said the confrontation stemmed from an undercover operation by seven officers investigating the club.
Bell was struck twice. Joseph Guzman, 31, was shot at least 11 times, and Trent Benefield, 23, was hit three times. Guzman was in critical condition Monday and Benefield was stable.
The officers' shots struck the men's car 21 times. They also hit nearby homes and shattered windows at a train station, though no residents were injured.
Police thought one of the men in the car might have had a gun, but investigators found no weapons. It was unclear what prompted police to open fire, Kelly said.
According to Kelly, the groom was involved in a verbal dispute outside the club, and one of his friends referred to a gun.
An undercover officer walked closely behind Bell and his friends as they headed for their car. As he walked toward the front of the vehicle, the car drove forward, striking the officer and minivan, Kelly said.
That officer was apparently the first to open fire, Kelly said. He had served on the force for five years. One 12-year veteran fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said.
It was the first time any of the officers, all of whom carried 9 mm handguns, had been involved in a shooting, he said.
At some point, Bell backed the car onto a sidewalk, hitting a building gate, police said. He then drove forward, striking the police vehicle a second time, Kelly said.
The department's policy prohibits shooting at moving vehicles states "unless deadly force is being used against the police officers or another person present, by means other than a moving vehicle."
This isn't the first time the NYPD has come under scrutiny over officer-involved shootings.
In 1999, police killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant from Guinea in western Africa who was shot 19 times. The four officers in that case were acquitted of criminal charges. And in 2003, Ousmane Zongo, a native of Burkina Faso in western Africa, was hit four times, twice in the back. In that case, one officer was convicted of criminally negligent homicide, but acquitted of the more serious charge of second-degree manslaughter.
Rangel said the latest shooting "reminds me of a tragedy that took place with Mr. Diallo. And we can't have that. We can't have that."
___
Associated Press Writer Tom Hays contributed to this report.
Here in California last year our police surrounded a guy in a van and fired 100 rounds and completely missed the guy.
Must have been a lot of warning shots!
I'd be troubled with all this militarization of our police as well.
Mayor Giuliani would never have preemptively thrown his own police officers under the bus in order to kowtow to a slug like Sharpton.
It is tragic that Sean Bell is dead, but Reverend Al needs to keep in mind that it is because he tried to run over a black police officer who had identified himself as such. It was this black police officer who fired the first shots, and an hispanic officer who fired most of them. Instead, Sharpton sees this as the perfect opportunity for race-baiting.
Five officers on foot, each armed with a Glock pistol, is "militarization"?
Bizarre opinion.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
If a black cop does the shooting, blame the chief. If the chief is black, blame the mayor.
But don't EVER blame the black criminal.
And certainly, don't wait for the facts.
I was thinking more not about this specific 5 guys but across the USA with new SWAT teams, etc.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
The department's policy prohibits shooting at moving vehicles states "unless deadly force is being used against the police officers or another person present, by means other than a moving vehicle.
How many kmiles has Bloomberg walked in the shoes of a police officer. What he should do is shut up and let the investigation go forward, instead of playing suck up to Al Sharpton.
I think I'll go with this description, it seems to fit better than "Mayor".
The two vehicles involved were civilian vehicles. A Toyota Camry and a minivan.
I'd like to see Rudy's screed on how guns are inherently evil. Can you point me in the right direction? Inquiring minds need facts. Thanks.
Please ignore for convenience sake the fact that these young offices have families, and that they were putting their lives on the line to protect neighborhoods prodominantly inhabited by minorities.
Just thinking about Al Sharpton makes me want to punch a fat person.
I wonder if Sean Bell, charming devoted father that he was maybe, just maybe, had a criminal record... Or is it not OK to talk about that?
It was this black police officer who fired the first shots, and an hispanic officer who fired most of them. Instead, Sharpton sees this as the perfect opportunity for race-baiting.
According to people like Sharpton, a black officer is just an oreo. It's still a racist attack.
This story smells. If there was a threat of a gun why did the police wait? Why not take them down outside the club? Waiting for them to get into an escape vehicle or gain access to the weapon first makes no sense.
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