Mar 25, 2008 5:38 am US/Eastern
Sean Bell Trial: 31-Shots Detective Testimony Read
Michael Oliver: 'I Saw A Passenger Raising His Arm. I Started To Fire. I Didn't Want To Die'
QUEENS (CBS) ―
For the first time, we are hearing from the man who fired 31 of the shots at Sean Bell and his friends. Detective Michael Oliver's grand jury testimony was read in court Monday.
For the first time we heard his version of what happened that night, and why he fired all those shots.
It happened when Oliver's words in the grand jury were read from the witness stand at this trial by the supervisor for court reporters.
"The car came at me, and hit my van head on. I was in shock. I saw Det. Isnora jump out of the way. He yelled, 'He's got a gun!'" Oliver testified.
"I saw the passenger window blown out. I thought they were shooting at us. I saw a passenger raising his arm. I started to fire. I didn't want to die."
Michael Palladino of the Detectives Endowment Association said he's satisfied with Oliver's statements.
"He was cross-examined in the grand jury," Palladino said. "We stand by his testimony."
Oliver's grand jury testimony continued: "They were moving inside. I didn't want him to raise his arm and shoot me. So I kept firing."
The defense still plans to call Det. Oliver to the stand sometime in the next couple of weeks.
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