Posted on 04/26/2008 10:45:20 AM PDT by neverdem
A Queens judge on Friday acquitted three detectives charged in the shooting of Sean Bell, who died on his wedding day in a hail of 50 police bullets. He said that prosecutors had failed to prove their case and that wounded friends of the slain man had given testimony that he did not believe.
The top-to-bottom acquittals of Detectives Gescard F. Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper were delivered by Justice Arthur J. Cooperman in an essay form bearing little resemblance to a standard jury verdict, and were met momentarily with silence in court as spectators looked at one another to be sure they had grasped what he was saying.
The detectives, all but obscured behind a human wall of courthouse officers, finally seemed to exhale deeply, even crumple, with relief. Detective Oliver — who reloaded his gun to fire a total of 31 shots and helped catapult the shooting from tragic mistake to a symbol, for many, of police abuse of force and poor training — closed his eyes and cried.
Except for a few scuffles outside the Queens Criminal Court building and shouted displays of disbelief and outrage, the day passed peacefully amid calls for calm delivered by the mayor, the police commissioner and other officials. Still, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a spokesman for the Bell family, called for street protests and said people should get themselves arrested, “whether it is on Wall Street, the judge’s house or at 1 Police Plaza.”
Legal hurdles remain for the officers: federal authorities said they would now investigate the case, and the Police Department is mulling internal charges. A $50 million lawsuit against the city, filed last year by Mr. Bell’s fiancée, who had two children with him, and the two men wounded in the shooting, may now begin moving forward...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
If, as the officers allege, the man deliberately tried to run them down with his vehicle, then he deserved what he got.
"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 Palelologus
The judge ruled that the prosecution didn’t prove their case. Now the feds & civil rights activists are getting into the act. Even the criminals like Lyin’ Al Sharpton, the media whore, is on his soapbox.
I just wanted to paste the most intelligent comment I’ve seen on this tragedy yet.
Thank you Eric. I totally agree with you.
copy:
Eric Blair 2084 to Smogger; wideawake
Please allow me to referee this argument. I beg you. This is degenerating into the same lame debate that one could find on the NY Daily News blog.
Smogger: you are right. If some black (or brown, orange, or purple with lavendar poke a dots) guys were charging at me or anyone else here wearing T-shirts and jeans and waving a gun, we would all floor the car and try to get out of there.
wideawake: You are right. These cops have a tough job. They risk their lives dealing with thugs, gang bangers, gang members who are armed to the teeth and have nothing to lose. In order to keep us safe. And for what? $22,000 starting salary in the NYPD. God bless em. 99% of cops are good people who are just trying to do their job and protect the community and get a paycheck to bring home to their family.
Are there a couple of dozen yahoos who get off on a power trip in each dept. and have emotional issues and enjoy messing with people? Sure. We are dealing with humans not robots. (FWIW, I don’t think these guys fall into that category)
Here’s the point. I don’t blame the cops. I don’t blame Sean Bell and his friends. I’m sick of the sanctimonious folks who say “why was he in a strip club”. If that was against the law, then every single buddy of mine...doctors, lawyers, engineers, business owners...would have been shot dead at their bachelor party. Frankly, this party was lame in comparison. I could tell you some interesting stories of what happens at a real bachelor party.
HERE’S WHO IS TO BLAME:
The dumbass supervisor/lawmakers/police brass who thought it would be a good idea to send a bunch of Gubmint agents armed with weapons into a club dressed as hoodlums to try to arrest some dudes for buying a bag of pot or paying $20 for oral sex.
Those dummies should be indicted.
It’s a recipe for disaster. They will claim to be shocked....shocked I tell you...when it ends in tragedy.
When asked by reporters why they shot the suspect 50 times, a spokesman for the officers replied, “They ran out of ammo.”
This case explains why I’d rather face a judge than a jury. Imagine facing a jury that thought a conviction was just a righting of past wrongs or some swill like that...No thanks.
I'm always amazed at the level of hatred and vitriol that is focused on police officers from FREEPERS. Sometimes you can't the police threads here on Free Republic from the ones on DU.
I wonder....
Anyway there was a case a few years ago in L.A. where a businessman became disoriented and stopped on a freeway overpass. He called his wife telling her he had no idea where he was. He thought he had driven into a remote mountainous area. He had experienced the problem prior to this incident.
I don't remember how things got out of hand but eventually the police became convinced that the situation was extremely dangerous and from a distance ordered him to drive his car off the freeway to a nearby street.
There other police joined and surrounded the car at a distance.
I heard about the incident from The Radio Detective (Jerry Pearce) show. Mr. Pearce, a long-time law enforcement officer, sheriff's deputy and private investigator interviewed a relative of the man and had a copy of the coroner's report.
The police started firing when the man opened the car's trunk and appeared to have a weapon. It turned out to be an air rifle, I believe. I believe that the man was hit by at least 150 rounds any one of 50 rounds would have killed him.
At the time I found exactly one news article about the shooting but I cannot find it now.
RE: Rev. Al Sharpton ... said people should get themselves arrested, “whether it is on Wall Street, the judge’s house or at 1 Police Plaza.”
Any lawyers out there want to comment as to whether this is criminal behavior, or could become construed as such if riots break out? How about if something happens at the judge’s house - could Sharpton be liable in a civil suit?
I know it will never happen, but it just seems like inciting violence is probably illegal and ought to be prosecuted (and saying people should “get themselves arrested” sounds like the equivalent of telling them to break the law.)
Because there are so many BAD LEOs out there, and we have ALL had bad experiences with them, in one way or the other.
Just last month, I contested a traffic ticket in court (it was a BS/revenue generation traffic stop to begin with), and the county deputy who had cited me for speeding (even though he had not clocked me on any radar, but had estimated my speed based on his odomoter, WHILE he was making a U-turn and accelerating) told TWO bald face lies against me to the judge. I ended up winning my case, and when he tried to argue with the judge, she shut him down.
Tell me again why we should respect these guys?
Ahem. Just wanted to distance myself from the ‘ALL’ emphasis in your post.
Not disputing there are bad LEOs. There must be. They are humans and there are bad humans.
But I’ve never met one nor have I had a bad experience with one.
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:12-17 ESV)
Then the drunk POS should have enough balls to get on the witness stand. Neither of the three did.
When the cops don’t focus on protecting the public and their property, they end up assaulting the public, partly because they don’t have enough to do, partly because of poor leadership from guys, who want to prove they are tough. So, they go after the law-abiding.
Book’em, Dano!
NO. If they were undercover agents trying to arrest the men, without visible ID’s, then he was within his RIGHTS to run them down. Period.
NO ONE is obligated to submit to “arrest” by a bunch of goofy-looking hoodlums, mascarading as cops, or vice-versa.
This could be worse for him than his Pastor if these protests have legs. Talk about the possibility of ripping the Democratric party apart. Sharpton of course is only trying to increase his power base to have some influence over Obama.
I'm no lawyer.....but I'd say he is guilty of inciting a riot if this actually takes place.
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