Jan 10, 2007 6:52 pm US/Eastern
Cuomo Meets With Sharpton And Sean Bell's Fiancee
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
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After Sean Bell was killed by a hail of police gunfire in the early morning hours of Nov. 25 outside a Jamaica nightclub, the NYPD hired a research group to review officer training.
CBS
State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo met privately on Wednesday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, the fiancee of a young man killed in a hail of 50 police bullets in November and a lawyer representing witnesses to the shooting.
The new attorney general met with the civil rights leader, Nicole Paultre-Bell and attorney Charlie King for about half an hour at Cuomo's lower Manhattan office to discuss the aftermath of the Nov. 25 shooting, which killed Sean Bell, 23, and wounded two of his friends. The half-hour meeting was closed to the public.
At a news conference outside Cuomo's office afterward, Sharpton said he proposed a permanent special prosecutor to handle hot-button issues such as the police shooting case, and he expressed concern about its investigation.
"It seems to us to be taking a long time," Sharpton said.
In a statement, Cuomo said he offered his condolences to the Bell family and vowed to monitor the ongoing investigation into the shooting.
"Justice must be done, and we must learn from this tragedy," he said.
Bell was killed by police gunfire as he and his friends sat in their car. The three had just left Bell's bachelor party at a Queens topless club. Plainclothes detectives involved in the shooting had been staking out the club because of allegations of criminal activity there.
Police have said they believed someone in Bell's party was going to get a gun, but none of the men shot by police was armed.
The victims of the shooting, which sparked community outrage and led to protests, were black; the five New York Police Department officers were black and white. The officers have been placed on leave pending the outcome of a grand jury investigation.
Bell's family has been calling for a special prosecutor's investigation and indictments. On New Year's Day, Bell's relatives began a vigil outside a police station to last for 50 days, one day for each bullet fired.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, whose office is investigating the shooting, has spoken with the mayor and police commissioner and has met with Sharpton and Bell's parents and fiancee. He has said there is no basis for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Also on Wednesday, state officials levied a $7,000 fine against the topless club where Bell had his bachelor party.
The fine against Kalua Cabaret was ordered by the State Liquor Authority based on a series of complaints in the months before Bell was killed. A decision against the Queens club by an administrative judge cited the arrest of a bartender in March for carrying a stun gun. Two patrons were arrested for cocaine possession during the same raid.
Authorities also have accused the club's owner, Roger Duran, of allowing prostitution and of violating health and building codes.
Testifying at a hearing last year, Duran told the judge he usually hires each week three dancers, who "go by nicknames," state civil papers said. He also claimed that if he ever saw any prostitution or drug problems "inside the premises, he would be the first to call the police," the papers added.
Workers at the club on Wednesday evening said Duran wasn't there. A telephone call to Duran's attorney was not immediately returned.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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