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50 SHOTS: Undercover Cop Thought Passenger Had Gun

Police Say Officer Had Been Drinking As Part Of His Cover

QUEENS (CBS/AP) ― CBS 2 has learned the undercover officer who fired the first shots in a storm of gunfire Saturday morning that left an unarmed man dead on his wedding day and two others wounded screamed to his backup team that he believed the front-seat passenger of the Nissan Altima had a gun.

It was that desperate scream that set off a barrage of gunfire from that officer, triggering four more officers to do the same.

Sources familiar with the officers' account told CBS 2 that the undercover officer directed his shots at Joseph Guzman -- the front-seat passenger of the Altima -- who he believed had a gun.

Sources said that Sean Bell and backseat passenger Trent Benefield were likely hit with errant rounds. Bell, 23, was killed, while Guzman, 31, was hit 11 times and Benefield, 23, was hit three times. Guzman was in critical condition and Benefield in stable condition on Monday morning.

The undercover officer who fired first had spent about three hours inside the club. Police admit he was drinking as part of his cover.

"The one undercover officer that we spoke to had two drinks in the bar," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Sources said that the officer then walked out and met with his supervisor -- a lieutenant, who returned his weapon to him and ordered the entire team to stop the car.

The NYPD has a policy on the use of deadly physical force involving automobiles. It states: "Don't shoot at/from moving vehicles unless deadly physical force other than the vehicle is being used.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to soothe an upset community on Monday and said bluntly that officers appeared to use "excessive force."

"I can tell you that it is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired, but that's up to the investigation to find out what really happened," Bloomberg said at a news conference after meeting with elected officials and community leaders including the Rev. Al Sharpton and Rep. Charles Rangel.

As anger simmered in the community over the weekend, Bloomberg -- who was reportedly out of town and had been in touch by e-mail and phone -- invited local leaders to City Hall for a meeting with him and Police Commissioner Kelly.

Sharpton called it a "very candid" meeting. He said the message to Bloomberg was: "This city must show moral outrage that 50 shots were fired on three unarmed men." Some have also questioned whether the shooting was racially motivated -- the victims were all black men and the five officers who fired their guns included two blacks, two whites and one Hispanic.

Of the victims, Bloomberg said Monday: "There is no evidence that they were doing anything wrong," referring to everything leading up to the moment they struck the officer with their car.

For a mayor to question the actions of the officers and defend the shooting victims -- while reaching out immediately to the grieving community -- sets a decidedly different tone than in the past. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani was hounded for what some viewed as a slow response to the killing of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who was shot 19 times in the Bronx by four white officers. They were later acquitted of criminal charges.

The gunfire in the current case stemmed from an undercover operation inside the Kalua Cabaret, where seven officers in plain clothes were investigating alleged prostitution and drug use.

Kelly has said the groom was involved in an argument outside the club after 4 a.m., and one of his friends made a reference to a gun. An undercover officer walked closely behind Bell and his friends as they headed for their car. As he walked toward the front of the vehicle, they drove forward -- striking him and an undercover police vehicle, Kelly said.

The officer who had followed the group on foot was apparently the first to open fire, Kelly said. One 12-year veteran fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said.

Bloomberg also said police appeared to have violated the policy stating that officers cannot shoot at a vehicle being used as a weapon if no other deadly force is involved.

Bloomberg was steadfast, however, in his support for Kelly, who has been denounced by some activists since the shooting.

The five officers were placed on paid administrative leave and had their guns removed while the investigation goes on.

Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, defended the officers' actions and said police were responding to the threat of the car.

"The amount of shots fired does not spell out excessive to me," Palladino said.

The shooting has brought back memories of other police violence, particularly the 1999 killing of Diallo.

Giuliani's response in that case sparked protests nearly every day for weeks around City Hall, where demonstrators accused his administration of trampling the civil rights of blacks and Latinos.

Bloomberg's allies these days include some who were once at odds with Giuliani, many of whom acknowledge the improvements over the past five years.

"The mayor has responded in recognizing how serious this is," said Rangel as he headed into the City Hall meeting on Monday. The shooting, he added, "reminds me of a tragedy that took place with Mr. Diallo. And we can't have that. We can't have that."

Sharpton also acknowledged that the tone has changed, but said courtesy only goes so far.

"This man has better manners than his predecessor. Let's see if we have better policy ... because we're not just interested in being treated politely," Sharpton said. "We're interested in being treated fairly and rightly."

Sharpton led a rally and vigil on Sunday where a crowd of several hundred shouted "No justice, no peace," and at least one city councilman called for the ouster of the city Kelly, yelling, "Kelly must go."

Bloomberg told reporters he is concerned about race relations and how this recent shooting, along with past incidents, affect the interaction of the police department with New Yorkers.

"We think we've made great strides but obviously there are people ... who think this was racially motivated," he said. "I don't think that was the case, but it's clear that people in this city do feel that they are sometimes stopped, frisked, whatever, based on their ethnicity -- that is totally unacceptable and we'll continue to do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen."

The mayor said he planned to meet with the victim's family as soon as it was appropriate, and said he would also visit the community in Queens.

Bell's fiancée, Nicole Paultre, made a quiet visit to the shooting site before dawn Monday, lighting candles clustered around a photograph of the smiling couple with one of their daughters.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)