Mar 17, 2007 1:35 pm US/Eastern
'No Joy, No Vengeance' For Bell Shooting Survivors
Fiance's Mom Speaks Of Pain Felt By Groom's Children
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
Since the November morning when police fired a 50-bullet barrage that killed an unarmed man on his wedding day, survivors and their supporters have called the shooting a crime and said the officers involved should be held accountable.
But representatives for the survivors and the slain man's family expressed measured approval, not a sense of victory, when lawyers said a grand jury had indicted three of the five officers.
"There is no joy, no vengeance, no party here," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has acted as a spokesman for the family of Sean Bell, who was killed, and for survivors Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman. "Charges are not convictions, and convictions ... will not bring back Sean Bell."
Lawyers for Marc Cooper, Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver said Friday the officers had been indicted and asked to appear in court Monday, but they did not know the exact charges. The three officers fired the most shots -- Cooper, 4, Isnora, 11, and Oliver, 31.
Lawyers were quick to proclaim the officers' innocence. They, too, pointed out that an indictment does not necessarily lead to a conviction.
"This is just the opening shot in a long war," said Philip Karasyk, who represents Isnora.
The grand jury's three days of deliberations had the city on edge and led to fears of unrest if charges weren't brought. The shooting has ignited outrage around New York and prompted accusations of racism against the NYPD.
The victims were black. Cooper, 39, and Isnora, 28, are black; Oliver, 35, is white. Authorities said the other two officers -- one black and one white -- were not charged.
The district attorney issued a statement Friday saying the grand jury's decision would be kept secret until an announcement Monday, but word of the indictments was out within two hours.
The grand jurors were instructed to consider several charges: second-degree murder, manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide stemming from Bell's death; and attempted murder, assault or reckless endangerment in the wounding of Benefield and Guzman.
The decision came nearly four months after the gunfire that killed Bell, 23, and wounded Benefield, 23, and Guzman, 31. The shooting led to angry protests and raised questions about police tactics.
A lawyer for Bell's parents said the charges marked an important first step in fighting for justice.
"Nothing is going to bring their son back," said Peter St. George Davis, attorney for Sean Bell's parents. "It is a very sad story. They are devastated. But they pray every day that somehow, out of their son's death will come a message or lasting legacy."
Police union officials defended the officers, arguing they were responding to reasonable suspicions the victims were armed and dangerous.
"This indictment sends a chilling message to all New York City police officers and to all law enforcement throughout the country," said Michael Palladino, president of the 15,000-member Detectives Endowment Association. "You can act in good faith, and there is no margin for error."
The deliberations were interrupted at one point after the emergence of a last-minute witness, whose story seemed to back up the officers' claim that they were justified in opening fire. But the credibility of the witness was not known.
The five officers were among the more than 60 witnesses who testified before the grand jury. Benefield and Guzman also gave their version, insisting the officers fired without warning.
"We didn't even have a pair of scissors in the car," Guzman said shortly after he was released from a hospital. "I don't know what started this. We did nothing."
The trouble began on Nov. 25, 2006, at the Kalua Cabaret, a topless bar that was the venue of Bell's bachelor party. The club had a history of prostitution and drug complaints, making it a target that night for a roving undercover vice team.
Undercover officers went inside the club at about 1 a.m. to chat up dancers "for the purpose of arranging sex for payment," a police report said.
At closing, the officers focused on one dispute involving Bell's party and a man outside the club, possibly over a woman. Guzman, the report said, was overheard saying, "Yo. Get my gun. Get my gun."
Isnora, a detective who had entered the club unarmed and undercover, retrieved his weapon and followed the three men on foot as they rounded a corner and headed toward their gray Nissan Altima, parked on Liverpool Street. According to the police report, the undercover told a supervising police lieutenant in a cell phone call: "It's getting hot on Liverpool, for real. I think there's a gun."
When Isnora approached the car, driven by Bell, it lurched forward and bumped him, then twice rammed into an unmarked police minivan, police said. The undercover officer claimed through his lawyer that, after pulling out his badge and identifying himself as a police officer, he spotted one of the men make a suspicious move, prompting Isnora to squeeze off 11 rounds.
Before the vehicle came to a stop, Oliver fired 31 bullets, reloading once. Tests show that a bullet fired from his gun killed Bell, authorities said.
The case brought back painful memories of other infamous police shootings in New York City, including the killing of unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo in 1999. The officers in that case were acquitted of criminal charges.
Diallo was hit by 19 of the 41 shots fired. Although the officers were acquitted, Diallo's mother got a $3 million settlement.
To some, the 41 shots in the Diallo case and the 50 shots in the Bell case became symbolic of excessive police force against black New Yorkers.
"We're looking for it to not happen again," Sharpton said. The only way you make sure it doesn't happen again is you stop it, and you punish it and you send a signal that we live in a society where laws have to be respected."
Some New Yorkers who followed the case met the news of the officers' indictments with a spectrum of emotions.
"They were the ones who shot the bullets. They have to live with the consequences," said John Gallagher, 46, an administrator at the City University of New York. He is white and believes his black co-workers are treated differently than he is by police.
"But it's a tragedy, no matter how you look at it, from both sides," Gallagher said.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
