Mar 9, 2007 4:44 pm US/Eastern
Last Officer Testifies Before Sean Bell Grand Jury
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
The New York Police Department detective who fired 31 of the 50 shots that killed an unarmed groom and injured two of his bachelor party guests testified before a grand jury on Friday.
Michael Oliver, 35, looking emotionally drained, came out after 21/2 hours in the company of his lawyer, James Culleton, who said, "Thirty-one shots, although shocking to a lot of people, can be fired with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic with reloading in approximately 10 seconds."
He said the grand jurors posed numerous questions about the Nov. 25 incident, which resulted in the death of Sean Bell, and Oliver "answered them all with honesty and without reservation."
"It was very emotional. A young man died in this case. It was a tragedy that occurred but no crime was committed," Culleton added.
Oliver was the last to testify among the five policemen who are under investigation, and spoke to the grand jury voluntarily, without immunity.
The grand jury previously heard testimony from Detective Paul Headley, who fired one round; Officer Michael Carey, who fired three; Detective Marc Cooper, who fired four; and Detective Gescard Isnora, who fired 11 shots.
Attorneys for the five officers asked the grand jury Friday for permission -- which was granted -- to present a firearms expert on tactics and training of the weapons the officers used. Retired police officer Eugene Maloney -- the top firearms instructor at the NYPD shooting range, was scheduled to testify Friday afternoon.
"For the past 31/2 months we have heard much speculation and a great deal of misinformation about what actually happened during the shooting," Culleton said. "Detective Oliver was looking forward from Day One to tell his side of the story, because that's the truth. He wanted the grand jury to hear what actually happened that night."
Culleton previously represented Richard Murphy, one of the four officers acquitted in the death of Amadou Diallo, the unarmed West African immigrant killed by undercover police in a hail of 41 bullets outside his Bronx home on Feb. 4, 1999.
Bell, 23, was killed before dawn after his bachelor party at Kalua Cabaret, a topless bar in Queens where police had launched an undercover operation in response to complaints about prostitution. He was to be married later that day.
The Bell grand jury has been meeting since January; a vote on whether or not the officers will face criminal charges is expected sometime in mid-March.
The grand jury heard accounts earlier from the two surviving victims -- Joseph Guzman, 31, and Trent Benefield, 23 -- one in a wheelchair and one on crutches.
Bell was black, as are the other shooting victims. Some of the officers are black and some are white; all have been taken off undercover duty and put on paid leave.
The case sparked community outrage and raised questions about police tactics. The men claim the plainclothes officers never identified themselves as police before opening fire.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
