Sean Bell+50 Bullets+The Law=Aquital & Question of Fairness

Sean Bell was an engaged 23 years old father of two, participating in a male pre-wedding ritual. He was out with the guys’ the eve of his wedding at his bachelor party. What he and two of his friends Trent Benefield, and Joseph Guzman didn't know, is that the place they choose to celebrate his last night as a 'free and single man', would be his last.

Three unarmed men were under a hail of 50 bullets and their only crime that night was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sean Bell would be killed that night. For the last 8 weeks NYC has been holding their collective breath, waiting for the verdict. On Friday April 25th, at the conclusion, some of the city are once again divided. No matter whose side you are on, at this point, no one is truly the winner.

While the topic of race wasn’t the focal point, it did rear it’s ugly head and divide New York City yet again. I believe this time the focus was more on the protection of the ‘boys in blue’ vs the past deeds of the targeted victims and hey, let’s not forget…there were 50 bullets. Excessive…ya think??

The police officers at the center of the shooting were acquitted but they are not off the hook yet. There will be a civil suit filed by Nicole (Sean Bell’s finance) and his parents. Will they win I’m not sure. Given the New Yorks history of horrific past misdeeds, they may.

Beginning in 1994 with Anthony Baez, 1999 Amadou Diallo, and in 2004 Timothy Stansbury, just these three cases, NYC has paid over 8 million to the families of these three men to settle wrongful death law suits. Nine million dollars from the city and police union, for the sexual brutalization of Abner Louima.

Why are these cases so important? They became high profile because of the very natures of these deaths and attacks. These were all unarmed men, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, they were minorities, and the police officers were white. One argument I heard was this case is different because the police officers charged were themselves minorities ( Det Cooper – African-American; Det. Isnora – Hispanic; Det. Oliver – while white, is Lebanese by nationality). I still say “So What??” Sean is still dead, and his children will still grow up without a father.

The 'Not Guilty' verdict by the honorable Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman is being questioned. Not because of his interpretation of the law (which most agree with) but with the way he cited 'inconsistent statements, courtroom demeanor and the police rap sheets and Benefields testimony in particular "eviscerated the credibility of those prosecution witnesses". In other words he just didn't believe the testimony of Bells' friends.

Witnesses in the court suggest, even cops who took the stand, contradicted each other as to whether Isnora identified himself as cop. However these inconsistencies were never questioned – or at least, not mentioned as factors in the final judgment.

Let me set the scene (no I was not there, but this is from various articles printed). There was an argument of some sort at the bar. There is a possibility that some unknown man said that he was getting a gun. The groom and his friends left the bar. Ask yourself for a moment: If you had just left an argument with some stranger and you suddenly see a man rushing at you with a gun, and then some van drive up and block your exit, what would you do?

Would you wait around and ask some polite questions? Or would you try to speed away from the scene as fast as possible - even if it meant your car hitting the stranger with gun? I know what I would do - and I'm not trained to react instantly in life and death situations.

Let me take a moment and say that this judge has a record for being fair, and has jailed police and criminals alike. I don't believe he was out to get these guys. While I do have problems bringing up past criminal history (especially of those not on trial), he was justified in his interpretation of the law. My question to him is how do you justify 50 bullets at 3 unarmed men? How can you not hold them accountable for a death?

There were additional things that bothered me about this trial. Where is the remorse? The three police officers spoke about the verdict in the moments after they were acquitted. ONLY Det. Cooper seems to have a conscious about the 4 bullets he used. ONLY he, seemed to understand his actions and how they have impacted all of the parties involved. ONLY Det. Cooper, must have been raised ‘correctly’ because he is the ONLY ONE to offer some sort of apology to the Bell Family. Det, Oliver who could have faced 25 years in prison if convicted on all counts of manslaughter, felony assault and reckless endangerment went to dinner with family and friends after the verdict, spending $4,200 on dinner including $180 on a pasta with truffles dish and $575 on bottles of wine. He is the officer that has been viewed as 'cocky and has no remorse. Was this dinner yet another slap in the face of the family? I’m not judging (well, maybe a little)…

Who knows, maybe John Conyers, the House Judiciary Chairman’s visit will shed some light or at least offer a different view and recommendation so this doesn’t happen in the future. Let me go on record for saying I deeply appreciate what the police and firemen do for our city daily. During 9/11 they were on the top of their game proving they are here to serve and protect. I know I couldn’t do what they do, so my hat is tipped to you. You risk your lives to make split-second decisions. However in my humble opinion I do think that in this case it wouldn’t have ‘killed (no pun intended) Det. Oliver, and Det. Isnora who fired 11 times, to express their sorrow for the lost life of another human being – guilty or not.

The end of the story isn’t if the Bell family sues the city for $50 million dollars. The story doesn’t begin or end with Rev Al Sharpton and his ‘request’ to shut down the city. The end really isn’t about anyone saying they are sorry. The end of the story is Nicole Paultre Bell and their two girls Jada, 5, and Jordyn, 22 months, no husband or father. The end of the story is Sean Bell, 23 years old is dead and not coming back.

In my view, that’s the saddest part. When are we going to start valuing human life?