Feb 24, 2008 4:20 pm US/Eastern
'50 Shots' Cops Head To Court Monday
Face Manslaughter, Reckless Endangerment Charges
QUEENS (CBS) ―
Sean Bell's fiancée and his daughter prepare for a long week, as the trial in the shooting death of Bell is set to begin Monday. Three detectives will be on trial, accused of firing the 50 shots that took his life outside of a strip club in Jamaica, Queens.
"Of course it's going to be hard having to hear things we didn't know, but I'm going to try to prepare myself. I don't know what I'm getting into, I'm just a normal person but I'll be there," said Nicole Paultre Bell.
But a jury will not be; that's because the officers, detective Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper waived their right to a jury and through their attorneys will argue self defense saying they believed that there was a gunman in Bell's car.
Family attorney Neville Mitchell said, "When you have a case like this I'm sure defense attorneys will be vigorous, I'm sure you'll have a lot of things said in courtroom that will cause pain to a lot of people."
The shooting took place after Bell's bachelor party. Detectives say they followed his friends out of the club because they heard someone was going to get a gun. A weapon was never ever found.
Two of Bell's friends were also wounded in the incident, and both are expected to testify.
"Just like anyone else, if you do the crime you have to do the time. I'm praying the judge will see, have a conscience, knowing that they did wrong," said Valerie Bell, Sean Bell's mother.
Two of the detectives are accused of first and second-degree manslaughter and face 25 years in prison, but the detective's union says all of the officers acted properly that night.
Paultre Bell is expected to be the first witness in the case. There's no word on how long the case is expected to last.
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