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NYC Crowd Calls For Justice In Death Of Groom

QUEENS (CBS/AP) ― The five officers who let fly a flurry of bullets at three unarmed men were placed on leave and stripped of their guns.

Police and prosecutors promised a full investigation.

But none of that stemmed the fury of a community outraged by the shooting. A crowd of at least a few hundred gathered Sunday at a vigil and rally to demand resolution after the gunfire left one man dead on his wedding day and two others wounded.

The group, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, shouted "No justice, no peace," and some called for the ouster of the city Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, yelling "Kelly must go."

Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg were scheduled to meet with community leaders Monday morning.

Elected officials and community leaders promised to hold police accountable for the Saturday morning incident, in which officers fired an estimated 50 rounds at the men as they left the groom's bachelor party in a car. Sean Bell, 23, had planned to marry the mother of his two young children just hours later.

"We cannot allow this to continue to happen," said Sharpton at the gathering outside Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens. "We've got to understand that all of us were in that car."

Kelly has said that police shot at the car after it drove forward and struck an undercover officer and an unmarked NYPD minivan. The information was based on interviews with witnesses and with two officers who did not fire their weapons, he said.

But a witness account emerged Monday disputing that version of events.

Trini Wright, a dancer at the strip club where the men had been celebrating, told the Daily News she was going to a diner with them and was putting her makeup bag in the trunk of their car when the police minivan appeared.

"The minivan came around the corner and smashed into their car. And they (the police) jumped out shooting," the 28-year-old told the newspaper for Monday editions. "No 'stop.' No 'freeze.' No nothing."

Kelly had said Saturday night that the police department was still piecing together what happened and that it was too early to
say whether the shooting was justified. He said it was unclear whether the officers, who were all in plain clothes, identified themselves before firing.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Kelly planned to meet with leaders at City Hall on Monday. Bloomberg and his aides were in contact with Bell's family and community leaders throughout the weekend to update them on the investigation and receive their feedback.

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

The surviving victims were Joseph Guzman, 31, who was shot at least 11 times, and Trent Benefield, 23, who was hit three times.

The shootings occurred outside the Kalua Cabaret, a strip club where the bachelor party was held. Both men are at Mary Immaculate Hospital, where Guzman was in critical condition and Benefield was listed as stable.

Relatives of the men attended Sunday's vigil and rally but none spoke publicly.

Chief police spokesman Paul Browne on Sunday confirmed reports that the five officers who fired were placed on paid administrative leave, a procedure that is administrative but not disciplinary, while the investigation goes on. He said the police department had taken their guns.

The officers will remain on leave "until we learn more about the circumstances of the shooting," Browne said. "There are still
a number of unanswered questions."

The officers' shots struck the men's car 21 times. The wild gunfire hit nearby homes and shattered windows at a train station, though no residents were injured.

Police thought one of the men in the car might have had a gun. But investigators found no weapons. It was unclear what prompted police to open fire, Kelly said.

Kelly said the incident stemmed from an undercover operation inside the strip club in the Jamaica section of Queens. Seven
officers in plain clothes were investigating the Kalua Cabaret.

According to Kelly, the groom was involved in a verbal dispute 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 a nearby undercover police vehicle, Kelly said.

The officer who had followed the group on foot was apparently the first to open fire, Kelly said. That officer had served on the force for five years. One 12-year veteran fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said. In total, it is believed 50 bullets were fired, he said.

It was the first time any of the officers, who all carried 9 mm handguns, had been involved in a shooting, Kelly said.

At some point, Bell, who was driving, backed his car up onto the sidewalk, hitting a building gate. He then drove forward, striking the police vehicle a second time, Kelly said.

Police could not question the officers who fired at the men because the district attorney must first complete an investigation, Kelly said.

Kelly said there may have been a fourth person in the car who fled the scene. Three officers, including the officer hit by the car, were treated and released. Another detective remained hospitalized Sunday for hypertension.

The police department's policy on shooting at moving vehicles states: "Police officers shall not discharge their firearms at or from a moving vehicle unless deadly force is being used against the police officers or another person present, by means other than a moving vehicle."

Kelly said undercover officers were inside the club to document illicit activity. With one more violation the club would be shut down, Kelly said. He said the establishment had a "chronic history of narcotics, prostitution and weapons complaints."

On Sunday, the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care said it is issuing a vote of no confidence in Kelly over the shooting. It also wants the removal of the Organized Crime Control Bureau chief, Anthony Izzo, who it says created the undercover unit involved in the incident.

Browne said Sunday, "We are continuing to look for additional witnesses to shed light on the incident and assisting the district attorney's office with its investigation."

Community leaders are planning a rally at police headquarters for Dec. 6.

This isn't the first time the NYPD has come under scrutiny over police-involved shootings.

In 1999, police killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant from Guinea who was shot 19 times in the Bronx. The four officers in that case were acquitted of criminal charges. And in 2003, Ousmane Zongo was shot to death during a police raid. The 43-year-old native of Burkina Faso, another West African nation, was hit four times, twice in the back.

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