Victim: Sean Bell

Perpetrator

Victim

What happened:

Sean Bell was shot in the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States, on November 25, 2006 after celebrating a bachelor party with friends. Sean Bell was then murdered on the morning before his wedding in a 50 bullet barrage by a team of both plainclothes and undercover NYPD officers. Two of Bell’s friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, were also severely wounded in the 50 bullet barrage. Michael Oliver fired 31 shots and even stopped to reload. Mr. Bell was killed as he sat in the driver’s seat. Trent Benefield, 23, who was in the passenger seat, was struck three times, in the leg and buttock, and Mr. Guzman, 31, who was in a back seat, had at least 11 bullet wounds along his right side, from his neck to his feet. All victims were unarmed. Standard Police Department procedures call for the suspension of officers who are charged with a crime, and the three detectives were ordered to surrender their shields. All five officers were placed on paid leave without their weapons.


Outcome:

On March 16, 2007, three city police officers were indicted in the killing of 23 year old, Sean Bell. It is unclear whether Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney, sought the indictment of the other two officers who fired at Mr. Bell, Detective Paul Headley, 35, who fired one shot, and Officer Michael Carey, 26, who fired three shots. All five of the officers testified voluntarily before the grand jury without immunity from prosecution. Detectives Isnora and Oliver faced the most charges: first- and second-degree manslaughter, with a possible sentence of 25 years in prison; felony assault, first and second degree; and a misdemeanor, reckless endangerment, with a possible one-year sentence. Detective Oliver also faced a second count of first-degree assault. Detective Cooper was charged only with two counts of reckless endangerment. The seven-week trial, which ended on April 14, 2008 was heard by Justice Cooperman after the defendants waived their right to a jury, a strategy some lawyers called risky at the time. But it clearly paid off. Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora– were found not guilty of charges of manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment in the death of Sean Bell, 23, and the wounding of two of his friends. Detective Cooper was also found not guilty of reckless endangerment. On May 18, 2010, U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York lifted a stay on the civil lawsuit brought by Nicole Paultre Bell against the City of New York. On July 27, 2010, a settlement was reached. New York City agreed to pay Sean Bell’s family $3.25 million. Joseph Guzman, 34, who uses a cane and a leg brace and has four bullets lodged in his body was to receive $3 million, and Trent Benefield, 26, was to receive $900,000. The total amount of the settlement was $7.15 million. Paultre Bell said, “I believe the settlement is fair, but the most important thing is that our fight, my fight, doesn’t end here. No amount of money can provide closure.” New York City Corporation Counsel stated, “The city regrets the loss of life in this tragic case, and we share our deepest condolences with the Bell family.” The head of the New York City Detectives Endowment Association said he thought the settlement was “a joke”. “The detectives were exonerated … and now the taxpayer is on the hook for $7 million, and the attorneys are in line to get $2 million, without suffering a scratch.” Guzman said the settlement did not change the underlying reality that the lives of black and Hispanic men were not worth much in New York; he said that the incident was bound to be repeated

Sources:


Date:

November 25 2006

Location:

Queens, New York


Sean Bell was an African American male, 23 years of age, unarmed and murdered the night before his wedding.