Sean Bell case - officers acquitted in verdict

Atlanata: All 3 detective are acquitted for the shooting death trial of Sean Bell. This trial took seven weeks for a decision to come in case of death of Sean Bell, a 23-year-old African-American male, who was killed in a 50-bullet hail of gunfire outside the Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica in the early morning of Nov. 25, 2006.

An emotional outburst was created after the decision inside and outside of the courtroom. Shawn Bell, Valerie Bell and other family members felt angry at the prosecution and the judge. ADA Testagrossa honestly said he was disappointed too. Whereas experts said that the reasons for the non-jury decision was multi-fold. One, the case needed a fact-finder that would hold the People to their burden. It is incumbent on the prosecution to prove the defendant’s did not act in self defense. The defense also had a judge they felt was not only fair in his view of the police, but was favorably disposed to the police, the hard job they have and to the testimony they may give. Additionally they were aware that the judge would not have high tolerance for witnesses who had abused the system and who had lied in the past and may not be coming to court with “Clean Hands.”

State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Cooperman ruled that detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper bare no criminal responsibility for Sean Bell’s death and the wounding of his two friends. “The people have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that each defendant was not justified” in shooting the victims, Cooperman said. “At times the testimony just didn’t make sense.”

Two of the three New York Police Department detectives involved in the shooting death of the unarmed Bell, who was killed in a barrage of gunfire outside a Jamaica, NY club just hours before his wedding in 2006, had faced a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted. Sean Bell, whose first name is often misspelled as Shaun or Shawn, was there with his friends to celebrate his bachelor party, just hours before he was to be married.Guzman and Benefield were shot and injured during the ordeal.

Oliver, 36, fired at the car Bell was in 31 times. Isnora, 29, fired 11 times, Cooper, 40, fired four. Police have said that during their undercover investigation of the Queens strip club, the officers believed someone in the group with Bell had gone to the car to get a gun.

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