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Fiancee says police acquittal like another death
2008-04-27
The fiancee of an unarmed man who was killed in a hail of 50 police bullets said on Saturday the acquittal of three officers charged in his death was like "they killed Sean all over again." "That's what it felt like to us," said Nicole Paultre Bell in her first public comments about Friday's verdict, in which a state judge cleared two detectives of manslaughter and a third of reckless endangerment in the death of Sean Bell, 23. Bell and two friends were shot after a bachelor party at a strip club in November 2006, hours before his wedding. Bell's fiancee, who has taken his name in his memory, appeared alongside his parents, both wearing T-shirts emblazoned with their son's picture, at a rally at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters in Harlem. Saying the system had let her down, Bell said she was still "praying for justice." Sharpton repeated his call for acts of civil disobedience targeting the Wall Street financial district and the city's police headquarters to protest the verdict. "We strategically know how to stop this city so it will stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians with no probable cause," the civil rights activist told supporters. An impromptu march followed through the streets of Harlem, with hundreds of angry protesters chanting and carrying signs. The incident began after one officer opened fire on Bell's car outside the club in the borough of Queens after he said it grazed him as the men tried to drive away. Two other officers arrived after the initial confrontation and said they believed the first detective was being fired at from inside the car. All three waived their right to a jury trial in favor of a judge. Defense lawyers said jurors in Queens were likely to be biased against the officers due to intense media coverage. State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Cooperman suggested the officers acted poorly, but said their actions were not criminal. The three detectives remain off active duty and face departmental charges, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said no action would be taken pending a federal investigation. The Justice Department is considering civil right charges. Bell's fiancee and the two survivors of the shooting have also sued the city for civil damages. (Reporting by Chris Michaud, editing by Alan Elsner)
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