3 NYPD officers cleared in 50-shot killing of groom-to-be

[RedLocks]

The verdict by Justice Arthur Cooperman elicited gasps as well as tears of joy and sorrow. Detective Michael Oliver, who fired 31 of the shots, wept at the defense table, while the mother of victim Sean Bell cried in the packed courtroom. Shouts of "Murderers! Murderers!" and "KKK!" rang out on the courthouse steps.
The Associated Press: 3 NYPD officers cleared in 50-shot killing of groom-to-be (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gzt5F_LdL__hNuiNlnZ4CzfSfgJQD90953DO2)




I couldn't believe when I heard they were found not guilty, really upsets me..

[zeitgeist]

50 shots sounds more like a hit to me, than self defense

[apocolips31]

Man this type of shit is just sicking to hear about. I hate the corruption in our law enforcement.:mad:

[HerbalConfusion]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=A05uvpG3cLs

On his wedding day too :wtf3::wtf4:

[killerweed420]

Its amazing that none of these officers are never penalized for excesssive force. I wonder what the description for excessive force is in law enforcement. I've seen a cop shoot an unarmed man with his hands handcuffed behind him in the back while he was running away. Its getting to where you cant tell the cops from the bad guys anymore.

[r0k]

They didn't even get a jury trial... :icon506:

[Breukelen advocaat]

They didn't even get a jury trial...
They chose not to have a jury trial. The man who tried the case, and pronounced the verdict, is Arthur J. Cooperman, a State Supreme Court judge with many years of experience.


WALL STREET JOURNAL
April 28, 2008, 9:20 am

In Case of Sean Bell, Where Did the Prosecution Go Wrong?

Posted by Dan Slater

The saga of Sean Bell, who was killed in a spray of 50 bullets after his bachelor party in November of 2006, continues to boil here in Gotham after three detectives charged with his killing were acquitted on Friday. Some of the ire has been focused on the prosecutors who failed to win a conviction in the case.

On Friday, Arthur J. Cooperman, a State Supreme Court judge in Queens, acquitted the three detectives and criticized the prosecution, led by Queens DA Richard Brown, saying that several inconsistencies had the effect of â??eviscerating the credibilityâ?� of certain state witnesses. The testimony of those witnesses â??just didnâ??t make sense,â?� the judge said. Yesterday, the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/nyregion/27brown.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin) took a close look at where Brown, 75, a former judge who has served as Queens DA for nearly 17 years, may have gone wrong.

â??The case was flawed from the beginning and probably shouldnâ??t even have been brought to indictment,â?� said Marvyn M. Kornberg, a defense lawyer in Queens. â??There was conflict in the testimony, not only internally with each witness, but externally, between the witnesses. Those are the kind of witnesses you put on the stand?â?�

Alan Vinegrad, the former federal prosecutor who tried the police brutality case of Abner Louima, the man who was tortured with a broken broomstick in a Brooklyn station house in 1997, conceded that Brownâ??s office had a very difficult job, but wondered why so many state witnesses â?? there were 50 â?? were called to the stand. â??The prosecution called numerous witnesses to testify about a relatively short sequence of events,â?� Vinegrad said. â??And doing that created the kind of inconsistency that is basically reasonable doubt.â?�

Accounts differed on a central question in the case: whether there was an armed man present when the police opened fire, spraying Bellâ??s car with 50 bullets. Accounts also differed about an argument that Bell had outside the club with a man dressed in black, later identified as Fabio Coicou. One of Bellâ??s friends who witnessed the argument, Hugh Jensen, testified that the exchange between Bell and Coicou was benign, but then said on cross that he believed Coicou was armed. Another friend said he believed the man was armed or pretending to be armed. As for Coicou, he contradicted his own grand jury testimony while testifying, recanting a prior statement that he had heard one of Bellâ??s friends say he was going to get a gun.

Joseph Tacopina, another former prosecutor and a defense lawyer who represented one of the officers in the Louima case, said that Brown had no choice but to approach the case with the witnesses he had. â??There are facts beyond change, and the best prosecutor in the world canâ??t do anything about that,â?� he said. â??Youâ??re only as good as the witnesses youâ??re given.â?�

Photo: Associated Press

Law Blog - WSJ.com : In Case of Sean Bell, Where Did the Prosecution Go Wrong? (http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/04/28/in-case-of-sean-bell-where-did-the-prosecution-go-wrong/?mod=WSJBlog)

[smok3y]

That shit aint right man.. They were GULITY OF MURDER.. Fucking scum bastards.. Hope they ROT IN HELL...:mad:


http://boards.cannabis.com/cannabis-com-lounge/154911-sean-bell-r-i-p.html#post1851590