Police kill wedding groom

[Narmer]

Originally posted by: LunarRay
Narmer,

But the courts cost money and time. The poor cannot afford such luxuries. Isn't it better if there was a mechanism that automatically started the process not unlike our military justice system. To me that's so much simpler than handing it to some District Attorney who HAS TO RUN for office, hence, he's absolutely reliant on the countless police unions and such. Again, we have money coming into the mix. Furthermore, the DA will be leaned on hard from these powerful political forces to lean a certain way if the law gives him that leeway. It's just disgusting IMHO that the DA is under such pressure. And sad for the victims.

I deduce from your post that you believe in the current system which fosters these bias outcomes in favor of the powerful and the weak are left holding a token verdict that reduces the punishment or gives them nothing in the end except their "day in court."

You've said it nicely but I can't help but disagree with your contentment at how the result of these incidents take their course. With America obsessed with terrorism, I wouldn't be surprised if these politicians, the police force, and others combine their powers to call "terrorist acts" crimes that are committed in urban America, where the majority of minorities dwell. It reminds me of the time when an Indian friend of mine, who was in the NY's National Guard, told me that, right after September 11, 2001, a white soldier told a black soldier "you ni**ers are off the hook for now", implying that they would be concentrating on people of Arab descent.

You were right earlier, there is frustration, an awful lot of it. In the end, you start thinking about death, 24 hours a day. How you will die; how will it feel; how will your loved ones react, and so on. You get used to it, even comfortable with the notion of death because it can come at anytime. In the end, some embrace it like a nurturing mother, when it stands for the exact opposite. The more you think about it the more you get excited about its outcome. I'm not suicidal, but since death is always on my mind so I prepare for it just in case that day comes. If I have these thoughts and I'm a relatively successful person (getting my dual degree in Math and Economics), then what about those that have nothing? What's their recourse if they can't find it in a system that's stacked against them, politically?

Like I said earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody cracks and went on a killing spree.

Yeah... I do see (as qualified in the next few words) your point... It is based on and comes from somewhere I've not been nor can ever actually visit... Sorta like walking in another's shoes... can't be done.. no matter what I'd try to feel or experience I cannot see but for using my own eyes... I only know what my hand feels like if a mouse trap snaps on my fingers.. I have to assume some issues are so very similar that there is no difference but yet a distinction can be made..

Today I heard a person in a store telling their friend jokes... or a joke.. I'll repeat it here but for the mind set of where I live "What would you call an airliner crash on approach to LAX?.. Urban renewal!"
The more I think about that 'joke' the more I'm beginning to see that folks really don't care about much other than their own lot in life.. and if that lot is ok then there is not much they'd support to change that.. not for the good of society nor the good of their neighbor... It is a 'me' society and there are alot of 'me's' out there.. all with approval for the way life evolves around them.. to the detriment of the 'them' who suffer..

It seems to me... rioting is not the answer.. it will only polarize folks against the 'how dare they's' .. I suppose Moonbeam is right.. we hate and need to project that hate and have found the easiest means to do that... and then justify it by pointing at the object of our projection and saying 'See'.

Yes, there is lots wrong with our system IF folks are denied justice because the politics don't flow from the poor and disenfranchised.... Mary Francis Berry, Past Chairman of the US Commission on Civil Rights had it right about the Florida election fiasco of 2000 where she indicated almost all of the 'people of color's' districts were seemingly designed to enable the disenfranchisement of folks in order to obviate a legitimate change.. BUT, in no way does that provide a basis for rioting.. destruction and death... NO... I think and find plausible the only means to change is change... Barak Obama, Colin Powel, Harold Ford... even Ms. Dr. Rice... are the beginning of the beginning... Rangle and others have blazed the way in the political areana... AND that is where change must start..
You want to lash out.. then be proactive get every 18 yr old to the vote... insure every one you know who is of age gets to the poll... change occurs over time.. but no change will occur with out the political backing you speak to..
You indicate that the DA won't play square because his motives are subjected to the citizen base that elected him... well... as Chuch Colson's office wall decoration pointed out (Nixon's buddy) ... "When you've got them by the B*lls their mind and body will surely follow"... You need doing some grabbing... and that is to insure a voice in the only place a voice will be heard...!!!
If that don't resolve the issue fast enough for you... well.. that is about as fast as it can be resolved.. IMO.. In the meantime direct your efforts to that objective with all the energy you have..

You're correct. It's just that seeing these negative incidents shows how far we have to go. But the hope is always there. Furthermore, suicide is foreign in African/African-American culture, therefore the only avenue is to fight a war of attrition against the perceived fear that others harbor against us. Those of African descent are quick to forgive, perhaps that's a testament to their strength rather than weakness.

If these cops are genuine human beings as you so eloquently put, then they must carry the pain of taking innocent lives in their own private lifetime. If anything, that should prevent them from repeating the horror. If not, then the fear and ignorance that they harbor about others will be indoctrinated into their children, who may reject it in this cosmopolitan society, or embrace it and be further isolated by society. Either way, the strength of compassion will always overcome fear and hatred, and that's a good thing.

Nevertheless, the secondary point of my argument is the protection that these officers succor from their comrades. IMHO, it'll mitigate the pain via a support system that's blind to right or wrong. This system shouldn't exist. Every man should be able to take the overwhelming emotions of death and it's consequences without having his colleagues lighten the load, whether financially,politically or emotionally. Don't carry a gun, end lives, and expect others to help you carry on. If you can't come to terms with ending life on your own then maybe you're not ready to carry the gun. Psychological weaklings need not apply. Instead, they should face the music in isolation. That way, their feelings will give a more accurate description of the true events.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Narmer

Originally posted by: LunarRay
Narmer,

But the courts cost money and time. The poor cannot afford such luxuries. Isn't it better if there was a mechanism that automatically started the process not unlike our military justice system. To me that's so much simpler than handing it to some District Attorney who HAS TO RUN for office, hence, he's absolutely reliant on the countless police unions and such. Again, we have money coming into the mix. Furthermore, the DA will be leaned on hard from these powerful political forces to lean a certain way if the law gives him that leeway. It's just disgusting IMHO that the DA is under such pressure. And sad for the victims.

I deduce from your post that you believe in the current system which fosters these bias outcomes in favor of the powerful and the weak are left holding a token verdict that reduces the punishment or gives them nothing in the end except their "day in court."

You've said it nicely but I can't help but disagree with your contentment at how the result of these incidents take their course. With America obsessed with terrorism, I wouldn't be surprised if these politicians, the police force, and others combine their powers to call "terrorist acts" crimes that are committed in urban America, where the majority of minorities dwell. It reminds me of the time when an Indian friend of mine, who was in the NY's National Guard, told me that, right after September 11, 2001, a white soldier told a black soldier "you ni**ers are off the hook for now", implying that they would be concentrating on people of Arab descent.

You were right earlier, there is frustration, an awful lot of it. In the end, you start thinking about death, 24 hours a day. How you will die; how will it feel; how will your loved ones react, and so on. You get used to it, even comfortable with the notion of death because it can come at anytime. In the end, some embrace it like a nurturing mother, when it stands for the exact opposite. The more you think about it the more you get excited about its outcome. I'm not suicidal, but since death is always on my mind so I prepare for it just in case that day comes. If I have these thoughts and I'm a relatively successful person (getting my dual degree in Math and Economics), then what about those that have nothing? What's their recourse if they can't find it in a system that's stacked against them, politically?

Like I said earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody cracks and went on a killing spree.

Yeah... I do see (as qualified in the next few words) your point... It is based on and comes from somewhere I've not been nor can ever actually visit... Sorta like walking in another's shoes... can't be done.. no matter what I'd try to feel or experience I cannot see but for using my own eyes... I only know what my hand feels like if a mouse trap snaps on my fingers.. I have to assume some issues are so very similar that there is no difference but yet a distinction can be made..

Today I heard a person in a store telling their friend jokes... or a joke.. I'll repeat it here but for the mind set of where I live "What would you call an airliner crash on approach to LAX?.. Urban renewal!"
The more I think about that 'joke' the more I'm beginning to see that folks really don't care about much other than their own lot in life.. and if that lot is ok then there is not much they'd support to change that.. not for the good of society nor the good of their neighbor... It is a 'me' society and there are alot of 'me's' out there.. all with approval for the way life evolves around them.. to the detriment of the 'them' who suffer..

It seems to me... rioting is not the answer.. it will only polarize folks against the 'how dare they's' .. I suppose Moonbeam is right.. we hate and need to project that hate and have found the easiest means to do that... and then justify it by pointing at the object of our projection and saying 'See'.

Yes, there is lots wrong with our system IF folks are denied justice because the politics don't flow from the poor and disenfranchised.... Mary Francis Berry, Past Chairman of the US Commission on Civil Rights had it right about the Florida election fiasco of 2000 where she indicated almost all of the 'people of color's' districts were seemingly designed to enable the disenfranchisement of folks in order to obviate a legitimate change.. BUT, in no way does that provide a basis for rioting.. destruction and death... NO... I think and find plausible the only means to change is change... Barak Obama, Colin Powel, Harold Ford... even Ms. Dr. Rice... are the beginning of the beginning... Rangle and others have blazed the way in the political areana... AND that is where change must start..
You want to lash out.. then be proactive get every 18 yr old to the vote... insure every one you know who is of age gets to the poll... change occurs over time.. but no change will occur with out the political backing you speak to..
You indicate that the DA won't play square because his motives are subjected to the citizen base that elected him... well... as Chuch Colson's office wall decoration pointed out (Nixon's buddy) ... "When you've got them by the B*lls their mind and body will surely follow"... You need doing some grabbing... and that is to insure a voice in the only place a voice will be heard...!!!
If that don't resolve the issue fast enough for you... well.. that is about as fast as it can be resolved.. IMO.. In the meantime direct your efforts to that objective with all the energy you have..

You're correct. It's just that seeing these negative incidents shows how far we have to go. But the hope is always there. Furthermore, suicide is foreign in African/African-American culture, therefore the only avenue is to fight a war of attrition against the perceived fear that others harbor against us. Those of African descent are quick to forgive, perhaps that's a testament to their strength rather than weakness.

If these cops are genuine human beings as you so eloquently put, then they must carry the pain of taking innocent lives in their own private lifetime. If anything, that should prevent them from repeating the horror. If not, then the fear and ignorance that they harbor about others will be indoctrinated into their children, who may reject it in this cosmopolitan society, or embrace it and be further isolated by society. Either way, the strength of compassion will always overcome fear and hatred, and that's a good thing.

Nevertheless, the secondary point of my argument is the protection that these officers succor from their comrades. IMHO, it'll mitigate the pain via a support system that's blind to right or wrong. This system shouldn't exist. Every man should be able to take the overwhelming emotions of death and it's consequences without having his colleagues lighten the load, whether financially,politically or emotionally. Don't carry a gun, end lives, and expect others to help you carry on. If you can't come to terms with ending life on your own then maybe you're not ready to carry the gun. Psychological weaklings need not apply. Instead, they should face the music in isolation. That way, their feelings will give a more accurate description of the true events.

The last part first...
I don't think I'd want a police force manned by folks who don't need the mitigation efforts of psychologists regarding their having shot and killed a human or any other animal. As I said earlier about not having a Gort in his space ship looking for people to terminate cuz they 'deserve' it... (that comes from a movie awhile back with Michael Rennie that I think was "the day the earth stood still")
In Ireland, at least when I lived there for a bit on business in the '80s, the Guarda did not carry guns... This is in the South of Ireland, Cork. The Guarda would walk the beat and be a presence to deter crime..
In England, I found that lots of folks from Africa worked and lived with out a care in the world and the only thing folks said was they have an accent.. Oh.. btw.. some were white some black some folks even looked a bit like they were Arabian... In a country that points to the Catholic minority in Ireland as if they all were IRA... or Sinn Fein members (political) and second class citizen being a black is not an issue but being a 'Mick' was.
The police there don't 'hassle' the black population. They do, however, hassle the folks who they think are the problem to their society... the IRA types...
In the North of Ireland it was not the violence that enabled a change ... not in my opinion... it was people seeing that being Catholic or Protestant was a distinction with out a difference... hehehehhe hard to tell a Catholic from a Protestant... have to look for which church they attend... since folks started to 'intergrate' back and forth where they lived.
You should read a bit about Ireland from.. oh.. 1796 to maybe 1980's Bobby Sands in the Maze prison... that was the beginning of the end... Sure you could argue that but for the violence nothing would have changed... And I'd argue that change was inevitable... kids grew up knowing their Catholic or Protestant neighbor as being just like them...

Vote... put your voice at the pedistal of power screaming the reality of our situations until everyone agrees that 'separate ain't equal' In 1954 Warren somehow got his 'brethern' to see this... with a bit of help from Marshall... heheheh AND that to be human has a much more simple criteria... We ARE all equally human...

 

[tomywishbone]

Todays funeral news & info (I'll highlight the greatest sentence, IMO):

Hundreds mourn NYPD shooting victim By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer, 1 hour, 9 minutes ago, Sat, Dec. 2.

NEW YORK - As a man killed in a hail of police bullets was buried Saturday, several hundred people observed a moment of silence near the strip club where he and two friends were shot after leaving a bachelor party.

The gathering near the strip club Kalua was held in memory of Sean Bell, who died a week ago just hours before he was to have been married. Undercover officers fired a total of 50 times at the car he was driving.

"Fifty shots from the New York cops!" the crowd chanted before the moment of silence.

"We didn't come here to start any violence," said Malik Zulu Shabazz, a black nationalist leader. "The New York police started the violence."

The rally was peaceful, although some in the crowd held signs reading "Death to the pigs" and "Shoot back." It began after the 23-year-old Bell was buried in Port Washington on Long Island.

On Friday, hundreds of tearful mourners paid their respects to Bell in the same church where he was to have married his high school sweetheart and mother of his two children.

"They took his life, but we can't let them take his legacy," the Rev. Al Sharpton said to cheers and "Amens" from the overflow crowd at the Community Church of Christ. "We must give Sean a legacy. A legacy of justice, a legacy of fairness. We don't hate cops. We don't hate race. We hate wrong."

It is still unclear what prompted officers to fire on Bell's vehicle on Nov. 25, but police apparently feared one man in the group was about to get a gun. The unarmed victims were black; the five officers were black, Hispanic and white.

Police union officials have suggested a fourth man was with Bell and his two friends and may have fled with a gun. The hospitalized survivors have said through their lawyer that no fourth person was involved.

The Rev. Lester Williams had been preparing to lead Bell and his fiancee through their vows last week, but instead delivered the eulogy. He stressed the importance of forgiveness and urged the congregation to remain calm despite the outrage over the shooting.

"I am angry as hell, but our anger must not cause us to sin," Williams said.

Relatives of the two men who survived the shooting, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, called for a night of nonviolence.

"Please, let's respect this day, and don't cause no problems," said Denise Ford, Benefield's mother.

Benefield was in stable condition and Guzman in critical condition on Friday at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens.

Complaints mounted about the police investigation of the shooting. Officers have raided at least one home, picked up witnesses for such offenses as unpaid tickets and scoured vacant lots in an effort to find a potential witness and perhaps a missing gun.

Critics warned that the search has created a climate of fear in a community already outraged by the shooting.

They said police have concocted a "phantom gunman" in a desperate effort to show that officers were justified in opening fire.

"This kind of police conduct is frightening, and it serves as a chilling impact on those witnesses who want to come forward and simply tell what they saw, what they heard, so that justice can be served," said Charlie King, an attorney who said he represents several potential witnesses.

Police officials insisted Friday that their investigation was appropriate and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking on his weekly radio show, called some of the criticism unfair.

An unidentified undercover officer and four others have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a grand jury investigation that could result in criminal charges.
___

:laugh::laugh:

 

[beyoku]

Just to add if no one has noted. THe police shooters:
-2 black
-2 white
-1 hispanic

 

[tomywishbone]

Additional facts for the record:

The officer who fired 31 shots was white.
http://shootershooter

 

[smack Down]

Police union officials have suggested a fourth man was with Bell and his two friends and may have fled with a gun.

I guess the police's reason he got away is they used up all there bullets on the unarmed men.

 

[LunarRay]

A fourth person... well they should know who he is... since IF he had the gun that the 'Groom' was getting it means the 'Groom' knew him and probably was part of the wedding party. If they are creating a phantom person they are doing a rather piss poor job of it.. Check the wedding party list... hehehehhehe good first step..

But, I can see the tactic here... they focus on the fourth person who had the gun causing the statement 'I'm going to get a gun' to be stipulated to by all sides... and by so doing the gun need not appear... they had plausible reason to assume someone in the car had a gun... they, again, need not produce a gun cuz they never said they shot cuz they thought they SAW a gun....

This is starting to be sorta border line in my mind... There should be witness reports a plenty and if anyone says they not only witnessed the altercation but the statement about a gun then the police are covered.. But, if no one does.. then well... there it is... An unjustified homicide.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: smack Down

Police union officials have suggested a fourth man was with Bell and his two friends and may have fled with a gun.

I guess the police's reason he got away is they used up all there bullets on the unarmed men.

One the guys recovering said there was no fourth person. If there was, how did he get out of the vehicle with all those bullets flying? lol There was no fourth person. And there should be no suprise as to which one of the cops squeezed off 31.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: getbush
"Since the 1991 incident, King has been arrested several times for attempting to run over an undercover police officer, drug infractions, domestic violence, soliciting a prostitute and other motoring offenses."

How funny is that. Maybe they're cousins. I can't believe that was a charge though.

Narmer and smack down have already proven a vehicle running someone over poses no threat.

Oh please, they use this as an excuse when they need to make something up.

A friend of mine was stopped in a parking lot by police, when she opened the door, the edge of the door bumped the cop and he filed assault with a deadly weapon charges.

It cost $800 to get the Lawyer to get them to drop the charge.

It's all a money racket.

I know there is a kickback directly to the police for every trumped up made up charge.

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

I know there is a kickback directly to the police for every trumped up made up charge.

What a poor, ignorant little man you are Dave.

 

[Narmer]

Originally posted by: getbush
"Since the 1991 incident, King has been arrested several times for attempting to run over an undercover police officer, drug infractions, domestic violence, soliciting a prostitute and other motoring offenses."

How funny is that. Maybe they're cousins. I can't believe that was a charge though. Narmer and smack down have already proven a vehicle running someone over poses no threat.

When did I ever say that it wasn't a threat? And where is this man with a gun? Maybe the cops like to invent boogie-men to justify their killings, no?

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: Narmer

Originally posted by: getbush
"Since the 1991 incident, King has been arrested several times for attempting to run over an undercover police officer, drug infractions, domestic violence, soliciting a prostitute and other motoring offenses."

How funny is that. Maybe they're cousins. I can't believe that was a charge though. Narmer and smack down have already proven a vehicle running someone over poses no threat.

When did I ever say that it wasn't a threat? And where is this man with a gun? Maybe the cops like to invent boogie-men to justify their killings, no?

Do you want the cops to wait until the assailants gun has fired before he/she fires at them?

Why do you paint
two black cops
two white cops
and one mexican cops

as people who want to kill others..

Please sign up to become a policeman if you think it is so easy

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: getbush
"Since the 1991 incident, King has been arrested several times for attempting to run over an undercover police officer, drug infractions, domestic violence, soliciting a prostitute and other motoring offenses."

How funny is that. Maybe they're cousins. I can't believe that was a charge though.

Narmer and smack down have already proven a vehicle running someone over poses no threat.

Oh please, they use this as an excuse when they need to make something up.

A friend of mine was stopped in a parking lot by police, when she opened the door, the edge of the door bumped the cop and he filed assault with a deadly weapon charges.

It cost $800 to get the Lawyer to get them to drop the charge.

It's all a money racket.

I know there is a kickback directly to the police for every trumped up made up charge.

Two sides to every story - She "bumped" the cop with the door. - It would be interesting to know what the other side is.

 

[Narmer]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: Narmer

Originally posted by: getbush
"Since the 1991 incident, King has been arrested several times for attempting to run over an undercover police officer, drug infractions, domestic violence, soliciting a prostitute and other motoring offenses."

How funny is that. Maybe they're cousins. I can't believe that was a charge though. Narmer and smack down have already proven a vehicle running someone over poses no threat.

When did I ever say that it wasn't a threat? And where is this man with a gun? Maybe the cops like to invent boogie-men to justify their killings, no?

Do you want the cops to wait until the assailants gun has fired before he/she fires at them?

What the hell are you talking about? What gun? As I've said countless times in this thread, why the hell didn't they stop them before they got into the vehicles or identify themselves as police?

Why do you paint
two black cops
two white cops
and one mexican cops

I didn't paint anyone. I simply don't trust police. Period. That is, until they change or become more responsible for their actions.

as people who want to kill others..

Please sign up to become a policeman if you think it is so easy

I know it's not easy and I do respect them for what they're doing. My feeling is that they don't give a damn about minorities because they treat us like second-class citizens. If I was white then I'd be comfortable with police around. But since I'm not they put on their game face and are completely hostile towards me. Too bad, IMHO, because I do respect them for putting their lives on the line every day. Too bad also that, in their mind, I'm just a criminal looking for a crime. For that reason, the distrust between the two of us plummets to the depths of hell.

 

[tomywishbone]

"Do you want the cops to wait until the assailants gun has fired before he/she fires at them?"
----------------------------------

:laugh::laugh::laugh: The invisible gun, or the gun of the invisible 4th passenger?

Edit: There ain't no gun.

 

[Narmer]

Originally posted by: tomywishbone
"Do you want the cops to wait until the assailants gun has fired before he/she fires at them?"
----------------------------------

:laugh::laugh::laugh: The invisible gun, or the gun of the invisible 4th passenger?

Edit: There ain't no gun.

Twenty years ago people and a judge would've bought that lie. Not anymore. Thank God for that.

Since the gun and/or the fourth person that escaped from the car during a hail of bullets is invisible, the police can probably solve hundreds of cold cases.

 

[tomywishbone]

It appears that the "4th man" is not real and the "gun" does not exsist. From todays news:

Armed man said not mentioned in shooting Mon Dec 11, 6:48 AM ET

NEW YORK - Witnesses interviewed for a preliminary report on the police shooting of three men ? including a groom on his wedding day ? did not mention a fourth, possibly armed man who police say may have been present before officers opened fire, a newspaper reported Monday.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the police department's 23-page preliminary report of the shooting, a detailed look at what happened on Nov. 25 when Sean Bell, 23, and his two friends were caught in a barrage of 50 bullets after a bachelor party at a strip club in Queens. Bell's friends were wounded; all three men were unarmed.

Police have suggested a fourth man may have had a gun and fled when the plainclothes officers opened fire, but the report made no mention of such a man, whom the surviving victims have said does not exist. Some in the community claim the officers invented the man to justify the shooting.

The report also contains no indication that police were searching after the shooting for a fourth man, the paper said.

The preliminary report includes summaries of interviews with Lt. Gary Napoli, who was supervising a team conducting an undercover operation at the strip club on the night of the shooting, two sergeants who responded after the gunfire began and 10 other officers, according to The Times. Also included are synopses of accounts by three civilian witnesses, including one of the victims, Trent Benefield.

Police investigators did not interview the five shooters in deference to an investigation by the Queens district attorney probe that could result in criminal charges.

In his statement to police, Benefield said Bell repeatedly drove forward and in reverse after officers opened fire, the newspaper reported. His account contradicts police statements that the detective opened fire after being hit by Bell's car.

The report reveals that none of the witnesses recalled hearing anything close to 50 rounds, The Times said. The sergeants who arrived after the shooting told investigators that two of the plainsclothes officers said they were unsure whether they had even fired at all, the newspaper reported.

The report also emphasizes that Napoli and his team were concerned that men outside the club could have been armed before the shooting, The Times said.

A police spokesman said early Monday no senior official would be available to comment on the report's findings until later in the day

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: tomywishbone
It appears that the "4th man" is not real and the "gun" does not exsist. From todays news:

Armed man said not mentioned in shooting Mon Dec 11, 6:48 AM ET

NEW YORK - Witnesses interviewed for a preliminary report on the police shooting of three men ? including a groom on his wedding day ? did not mention a fourth, possibly armed man who police say may have been present before officers opened fire, a newspaper reported Monday.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the police department's 23-page preliminary report of the shooting, a detailed look at what happened on Nov. 25 when Sean Bell, 23, and his two friends were caught in a barrage of 50 bullets after a bachelor party at a strip club in Queens. Bell's friends were wounded; all three men were unarmed.

Police have suggested a fourth man may have had a gun and fled when the plainclothes officers opened fire, but the report made no mention of such a man, whom the surviving victims have said does not exist. Some in the community claim the officers invented the man to justify the shooting.

The report also contains no indication that police were searching after the shooting for a fourth man, the paper said.

The preliminary report includes summaries of interviews with Lt. Gary Napoli, who was supervising a team conducting an undercover operation at the strip club on the night of the shooting, two sergeants who responded after the gunfire began and 10 other officers, according to The Times. Also included are synopses of accounts by three civilian witnesses, including one of the victims, Trent Benefield.

Police investigators did not interview the five shooters in deference to an investigation by the Queens district attorney probe that could result in criminal charges.

In his statement to police, Benefield said Bell repeatedly drove forward and in reverse after officers opened fire, the newspaper reported. His account contradicts police statements that the detective opened fire after being hit by Bell's car.

The report reveals that none of the witnesses recalled hearing anything close to 50 rounds, The Times said. The sergeants who arrived after the shooting told investigators that two of the plainsclothes officers said they were unsure whether they had even fired at all, the newspaper reported.

The report also emphasizes that Napoli and his team were concerned that men outside the club could have been armed before the shooting, The Times said.

A police spokesman said early Monday no senior official would be available to comment on the report's findings until later in the day

It was an execution, plain and simple.

 

[moomoo40moo]

Originally posted by: tomywishbone
It appears that the "4th man" is not real and the "gun" does not exsist. From todays news:

Armed man said not mentioned in shooting Mon Dec 11, 6:48 AM ET

NEW YORK - Witnesses interviewed for a preliminary report on the police shooting of three men ? including a groom on his wedding day ? did not mention a fourth, possibly armed man who police say may have been present before officers opened fire, a newspaper reported Monday.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the police department's 23-page preliminary report of the shooting, a detailed look at what happened on Nov. 25 when Sean Bell, 23, and his two friends were caught in a barrage of 50 bullets after a bachelor party at a strip club in Queens. Bell's friends were wounded; all three men were unarmed.

Police have suggested a fourth man may have had a gun and fled when the plainclothes officers opened fire, but the report made no mention of such a man, whom the surviving victims have said does not exist. Some in the community claim the officers invented the man to justify the shooting.

The report also contains no indication that police were searching after the shooting for a fourth man, the paper said.

The preliminary report includes summaries of interviews with Lt. Gary Napoli, who was supervising a team conducting an undercover operation at the strip club on the night of the shooting, two sergeants who responded after the gunfire began and 10 other officers, according to The Times. Also included are synopses of accounts by three civilian witnesses, including one of the victims, Trent Benefield.

Police investigators did not interview the five shooters in deference to an investigation by the Queens district attorney probe that could result in criminal charges.

In his statement to police, Benefield said Bell repeatedly drove forward and in reverse after officers opened fire, the newspaper reported. His account contradicts police statements that the detective opened fire after being hit by Bell's car.

The report reveals that none of the witnesses recalled hearing anything close to 50 rounds, The Times said. The sergeants who arrived after the shooting told investigators that two of the plainsclothes officers said they were unsure whether they had even fired at all, the newspaper reported.

The report also emphasizes that Napoli and his team were concerned that men outside the club could have been armed before the shooting, The Times said.

A police spokesman said early Monday no senior official would be available to comment on the report's findings until later in the day

ummm WHAT

 

[shrumpage]

Originally posted by: smack Down

Police union officials have suggested a fourth man was with Bell and his two friends and may have fled with a gun.

I guess the police's reason he got away is they used up all there bullets on the unarmed men.

Next thing the police will be claiming is a it was a one armed man....

 

[tomywishbone]

From todays news. Interesting.

Training of cops in NYC shooting faulted By TOM HAYS, Associated Press Writer, 1 hour, 44 minutes ago, Thursady.


NEW YORK - Four of the five officers who together fired 50 gunshots at the car of an unarmed man on his wedding day hadn't completed mandatory firearms training, a group of black officers alleged Thursday.

New York Police Department brass "failed to ensure these officers were properly trained," said Marquez Claxton, a founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.

At a news conference outside police headquarters, Claxton alleged that four plainclothes officers involved in the Nov. 25 killing of 23-year-old Sean Bell and the wounding of two companions attended only one of two annual "training cycles" at the police shooting range. The fifth shooter, an unidentified undercover detective, had done both practice sessions, he added.

"When you fail to attend these training cycles, tragedies occur," Claxton said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the officers' track record on training was unremarkable.

"Ideally, everyone goes to two cycles, but it's not unusual for officers not to complete both cycles in one year," he said.

The fraternal organization ? made up of current and retired law enforcement officers from the NYPD and other agencies ? claimed that a preliminary police department report about the shooting contains proof the officers were undertrained.

The victims in the shooting were black; the officers were white, black and Hispanic.

The report lists the last time each officer was at the shooting range: One who fired 31 of the 50 rounds was there April 5; another on March 3; another on Jan. 12; and another on March 21. The undercover detective last took practice on Oct. 4, it says.

The report also notes that none of the officers had ever fired their weapons in the field before the confrontation outside a Queens topless bar where Bell's bachelor party intersected with a police undercover operation targeting suspected prostitution.

Police have said undercover officers believed the victims were going to retrieve a gun, but no weapons were found. The undercover officer, who initiated the gunfire, has said through his lawyer that he saw a fourth, possibly armed man flee the car.

Civilian witnesses supported that claim and identified the fourth person as Jean Nelson, police said. Nelson and the two survivors from the car, Trent Benefeld and Joseph Guzman, have denied he was in or near the car when the gunfire erupted.

The officers are on paid administrative leave while Queens prosecutor Richard Brown determines whether they will face criminal charges.

___

Associated Press writer Pat Milton contributed

 

[Narmer]

When you have a unionized and politically powerful police force, these creatures can easily get away with murder. I pray that somebody gets their vengeance.

 

[Corn]

Originally posted by: Narmer
When you have a unionized and politically powerful police force, these creatures can easily get away with murder. I pray that somebody gets their vengeance.

Civilized people pray for Justice, not revenge.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: tomywishbone
From todays news. Interesting.

Training of cops in NYC shooting faulted
The officers are on paid administrative leave while Queens prosecutor Richard Brown determines whether they will face criminal charges.

Why are they still getting paid? :|

 

[ric1287]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: tomywishbone
From todays news. Interesting.

Training of cops in NYC shooting faulted
The officers are on paid administrative leave while Queens prosecutor Richard Brown determines whether they will face criminal charges.

Why are they still getting paid? :|

have they been formally charged with any crime?