Jul 24, 2007 3:44 pm US/Eastern
Sean Bell Fiancée Files NYPD Wrongful Death Suit
by Tamsen Fadal
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
Nicole Paultre Bell, the fiancee of Sean Bell, who was killed in a 50-shot barrage of police bullets just hours before their wedding day, today filed a federal wrongful death suit against the five officers, the NYPD and New York City.
Bell's lawsuit charges that last year's fatal shooting was caused by poorly trained cops who recklessly opened fire outside a Queens strip club. The police officers were conducting an undercover operation into alleged prostitution at the Kalua Cabaret, the site of the bachelor party.
Three of the officers were indicted in March, two on charges of manslaughter. Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper all pleaded innocent in the November 25, 2006, slaying of Sean Bell as he left a bachelor party hours before his scheduled wedding.
Nicole Paultre Bell legally took her fiancee's name after his death.
Oliver and Isnora were indicted for manslaughter, while Cooper was charged with reckless endangerment.
Sean Bell's friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, who were both wounded in the gunfire that killed the would-be groom, joined her in filing the suit, which also included Bell's two children.
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