I'll take a guess
After the altercation at the club he was followed back to his car ,some one pulled a gun on him and two cars were trying to block him in.
I would have run over anything in my path also
Posted on 12/03/2006 6:22:34 AM PST by Silly
They were Sean Bell’s final hours of bachelorhood, and in an enduring rite of passage, he and his friends chose to celebrate at a strip club, in this case Club Kalua in Jamaica, Queens.
Another group was also headed to the club on the evening of Nov. 24. But they had a different objective: Shut the place down. They were police officers, two of them undercover, pursuing reports of drugs and prostitution behind the building’s burnt-red facade and dingy portico.
Early the next morning, hours after they all arrived, the two groups would intersect in a few flashing moments of confusion, fear, car crashes and 50 police bullets — leaving Mr. Bell dead, two of his friends wounded, and a community enraged. In the days since, much of Mr. Bell’s life story, along with some of the life stories of the police officers who shot him and his friends, has emerged.
But Club Kalua has its story, too. Of all the factors and coincidences that brought the two groups together, the existence of the little strip club must be seen as one of the most important. It was the destination of both groups that fateful night.
And there is substantial evidence that it shouldn’t have been there.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Agree completely.
1. The club in question was a sh!t-hole, and located in a neighborhood that is a sh!t-hole even by New York standards. As such, it -- and many of the people who frequented it -- was the subject of some close scrutiny by the NYPD.
2. While the driver of the car may have tried to ram the police officers, there is a very good possibility (in fact, I'd call it a "likelihood") that the men in the car had no idea that the men outside the car were actually police officers. See Item #1 for an explanation of why they would have every reason to question the intentions of anyone who surrounded their car. Do research on "Dorismond, Patrick" to find a similar case in which a civilian was shot and killed by NYPD officers who apparently never identified themselves properly before shooting him.
You go see woman naked in one of the most crime infested places in Queens just hours before you unite with one woman for the rest of your life. I don't think that was the best decision to make. Tragic in many whys this story but I hope some light is shead on this strip club and the type of people that go their.
I wish Sean Bell never struck the two police vehicles, one of them twice. What was he thinking. May he find peace in the after life.
God Bless the NYPD
"What exactly is your criticism of this particular story?"
I don't know if you mistook my remarks as sarcastic, or if you meant to post to another person. I have no criticism of the story (well, it was kind of boring and I didn't read it all, but there was no way around that for the author(s)).
What I was saying was the the Times does very well on these longer stories that require digging even on simple local crime stuff. I know this particular incident is becoming national news (justly or unjustly), but they've always been good on stuff like this. Of course most people don't need to be told what a sleezy place that club must be, but it can't hurt to have the details spelled out.
Reur #2: Do you mean that the guys in the car had a right to run down someone is not a policeman and that a non-policeman in such a situation would not have the right to use deadly force to protect himself? Absurd!
And then there is the fact the the PD at one time were among the most frequent CLIENTS at this club. Hmmm, factor that in.
And then there is the well known fact that the NYPD are a extremely corrupt organization, with organized crime having their hooks set good and strong into the organization. Perhaps all the stings and arrests have to do with protecting a) the reputation of the police (after they were caught there) and b) the mob guys competing organizations.
I'm not arguing here that drugs and prostitution are harmless or victimless, only that having lived in NYC the PD is a big part of the problem.
There have been far too many idiotic shootings like this.
Regardless of what has gone on there in the past there is no excuse of the NYPD behavior.
Like others, I doubt anyone will get more than a slap on the wrist.
So say the police. What has the driver said? Was he trying to get away from some unidentified "thugs?"
All the cops needed was one more violation. A prior article claimed that this particular night was to be the last night of a two month operation before the task force was to be shut down.
Also, since it has also been claimed that three violations would permit the club to be shut down, the implication is that they only had two such violations during their two month surveillance.
One thing is certain. It is a very dangerous club to visit if the cops are watching it.
You tolerate a lot. Condoning lawbreakers is harmful to us all.
Sorry, that doesn't hold up. Out of all the cops there --even in a highly charged situation -- one would have shouted "Police! Stop!"
This thread has sure attracted a bunch of people who hate cops, and assume the cops are the bad guys. Having been exposed to a couple of bad cops myself, I'm no fan, but I'm willing to hear the whole story.
I'm don't know what you think I tolerate. I believe that lawbreakers should be arrested, tried and, if convicted, serve their sentence. There are certainly enough questions about this instance since we haven't heard of them breaking any laws before people who we now know were police tried to stop them. We do know that an officer who didn't know they had a gun shouted that they had a gun. It's not likely that we will ever know why the officers chose to stop this group.
Pull a gun on me in a dark crime ridden part of town, UN-UNIFORMED, and I too will run your a$$ down. Come at me in uniform, I'll show you all the deferrence in the world. Absurd? Indeed, it was absurd the way this was handled by supposed professionals. Blackbird.
Another club shooting by police. Similar to NYC shooting, 2 dead.
http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=5763059
Yes, remarkably similar.
Note the dumbasses everywhere: Stop when a cop tells you to stop, and never try to run over anyone with your car.
If you were in a car and were surrounded by men in plain clothes with guns drawn, I'd like to think you'd do the same thing. Someone who draws a gun on another person is not acting "in self-defense" when that other person engages in whatever means necessary to protect himself.
Right. And in all the chaos and confusion, it may not be reasonable to expect that the driver of the car can actually hear the cop shouting this (think of how difficult this would be if there are four guys in the car talking/shouting at the same time, the windows are up, and the engine is revving).
It is very difficult to mistake police for anything but police in those situations. The more likely scenario is that the driver, alcohol impaired, thought he could get away and the thing escalated.
It is very difficult to mistake police for anything but police in those situations. The more likely scenario is that the driver, alcohol impaired, thought he could get away and the thing escalated.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.