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Bell Family, Friends March To Protest Court Ruling

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Bell Family, Friends March To Protest Court Ruling

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Family and friends of the late Sean Bell attended a rally Saturday in response to the acquittals of all three NYPD detectives in the shooting.

"April 25, 2008: They killed Sean all over again," Nicole Paultre Bell softly told hundreds of people gathered at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters. "That's what if felt like to us."

Paultre Bell, in her first public remarks since storming out of a Queens courtroom on Friday, said she would seek another decision in the case.

"I'm still praying for justice," she said, "because it's not over."

Bell's family, shooting victim Joseph Guzman and Sharpton lashed out at the legal system at a rally at Sharpton's offices before they joined more than 300 people marching through more than 20 blocks in Harlem. Fifty protesters carried white placards with a number on each sign, referring to the number of shots fired on Bell and his two friends outside a Queens strip club on his wedding day in 2006.

"We've got a long fight," said Guzman. "We're still in it. ... We're going to struggle. We're going to get through."

Sharpton lambasted the judge who acquitted the detectives, saying a jury should been seated to decide guilt or innocence.

"If people are on the public payroll, doing their public duty, they should be required to face a public jury," Sharpton said. He later promised to "shut the city down" with organized civil disobedience. "Shut it down! Shut it down!" supporters chanted.

"I expected at least somebody pay for what they did, someone. But no one did," William Bell said. "They just slapped me in the face, like my son's death didn't matter."

On the day of the ruling, Valerie Bell said, "Today felt like reliving the death all over again of my son."

In a statement Judge Arthur Cooperman wrote, "It was necessary to consider the mind-set of each defendant at the time and place of occurrence, and not the mind-set of the victims...Carelessness and incompetence are not standards to be applied here."

The judge sided with the detectives, who said they were justified in firing more than 50 shots at Sean Bell and his two friends, because they thought they were in danger. He also said that the inconsistent testimony, courtroom demeanor and rap sheets of the prosecution witnesses "had the effect of eviscerating" their credibility.

"At times, the testimony just didn't make sense," the judge said.

His words were a reprieve from the possibility of turning detectives Marc Cooper, Gescard Isnora, and Michael Oliver into convicted felons. Oliver and Gescard Isnora were acquitted of charges that included manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. The third officer, Marc Cooper, faced lesser charges.

"Thank you to my family and friends and my attorney Judge Cooper for making a fair and just decision," said Detective Oliver.

"First and foremost I would like to thank Jesus Christ for bringing this road to fruition. To my family and secondly to Justice Cooperman for his fair and just decision," Detective Isnora said.

"I'd like to say sorry to the Bell family for the tragedy. I'd like to thank the Lord my savior, today started my life back," Detective Marc Cooper said.

For the Bell family, this is far from over.

"We're going to fight for our son until the end until justice is done not just for him, but for everyone," Valerie said.

Bell was killed outside the Queens strip club as he was leaving his bachelor party. The officers -- undercover detectives who were investigating reports of prostitution at the club -- said they thought one of the men had a gun.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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