Mar 19, 2007 8:19 am US/Eastern
Officers Surrender Ahead Of Sean Bell Indictments
Sealed Indictments Against 3 Officers Leaked Friday
by Tamsen Fadal
QUEENS (CBS) ―
The three New York City police officers indicted in the Sean Bell shooting surrendered to police Monday morning.
Chopper 2 was over the Queens courthouse as the officers arrived at around 7 a.m. to be fingerprinted and processed.
Indictments against the officers are expected to be unsealed on Monday following a long and difficult grand jury investigation. They will be arrainged later in the day after the indictments are read.
Word of the indictments by the grand jury was leaked Friday, but on Monday the charges will be unsealed against individual officers face for the November shooting that left Sean Bell dead and two of his friends, Trent Benefield, 23, and Joseph Guzman, 31, wounded.
It seems that many New Yorkers already have made up their minds about what happened that fateful night.
"Justice. Let them get what they deserve," said Jamaica resident Lisa Brady.
Jean Meisel, an East Side resident, said, "I think that these people do the most incredible job protecting us, and I just would like to believe that everything they do is fair and equitable, and it makes me very sad that this is happening."
Three detectives -- Gescard Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper -- will find out the exact charges they face.
It's been reported Isnora and Oliver will be charged with manslaughter, and Cooper with reckless endangerment. But sources familiar with the case suggest the list is incomplete.
In Sunday's New York Post, paparazzi caught soon-to-be defendant Michael Oliver dining at a pricey east side restaurant, looking as if he is not worried about the looming indictment.
But detective's union President Michael Palladino is worried about pre-judging in the case, something he says began with a statement by Mayor Bloomberg immediately following the shooting.
"It's hard to understand why 50-odd shots should be taken. To me that sounds excessive and unacceptable," Bloomberg said after the shooting.
Palladino said, "In order for the detectives to get a level playing field and a fair trial, the case has to take place in the courtroom, and not in the court of public opinion."
So, we could see a request for a change of venue.
Palladino is expected to escort the officers as they surrender. After they hear the charges, the officers are expected to be released on little or no bail.
An arraignment is set for later this afternoon.
With the talk of a change of venue, it is worth noting that the officers involved in the Amadou Diallo shooting were granted a change of venue. They were tried and acquitted in Albany.
CBS 2 will be there when the expected indictments against the three officers in this case are unsealed.
A news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m., and CBS 2 and WCBSTV.com will bring it to you live as it happens.
Also stay tuned for reaction on CBS 2 News at Noon, 5 and 6.
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