Mar 2, 2007 6:50 pm US/Eastern
Sean Bell Shooting Survivors Called To Grand Jury
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
-
-
Sean Bell was killed by a hail of police gunfire in the early morning hours of Nov. 25 outside a Jamaica nightclub.
CBS
-
-
Joseph Guzman was shot 16 times by police.
CBS
Two men seriously injured in a 50-shot barrage by police that killed their unarmed friend were called to testify on Friday before a grand jury investigating whether five police officers should face criminal charges.
Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman prayed on the steps of a Queens courthouse with the Rev. Al Sharpton and the fiance of the dead man, Sean Bell, before heading to a nearby office building where they were to offer their version of the shooting on Nov. 25, 2006 -- a case that sparked community outrage and raised questions about police tactics.
"We waited through winter to be able to tell the truth," Sharpton said. Benefield, who was on crutches, and Guzman, who was in a wheelchair, did not speak to reporters.
Lawyers for Benefield and Guzman have said they would testify that five shooters never identified themselves as police before opening fire.
Bell, 23, was killed before dawn after his bachelor party at Kalua Cabaret, a topless bar in Queens where police had launched an undercover operation in response to complaints about prostitution.
Union representatives and lawyers for the officers have said their clients became convinced Bell and his friends were going to retrieve a gun from a car parked around the corner after overhearing them argue with another patron.
When an undercover detective approached the car -- driven by Bell and carrying Benefield and Guzman -- it lurched forward and bumped him, then twice rammed into an unmarked police minivan, the NYPD said.
The undercover, who has claimed through his lawyer that he spotted one of the men make a suspicious move, squeezed off 11 rounds before the vehicle came to a stop. Of the other plainclothes detectives, one fired 31 bullets.
Bell was black, as are the other shooting victims. Some of the officers are black and some are white; all have been taken off undercover duty and put on paid leave.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
CBS 2's Coverage Of The Death Of Sean Bell
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments