Unarmed Groom Killed By NYPD Bullets

Cops Fired 50 Rounds At Unarmed Men Leaving Bachelor Party In New York

(CBS/AP)  Police fired 50 rounds at a car of unarmed men leaving a bachelor party at a strip club, killing the groom on his wedding day in a shooting that drew a furious outcry from family members and community leaders.

The spray of bullets hit the car 21 times, after the vehicle rammed into an undercover officer and then an unmarked NYPD minivan twice early Saturday, police said. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly would not say if the collisions were what prompted police to open fire.

It was too early to say whether the shooting was justified, Kelly said.

Police thought one of the men in the car might have had a gun. But police found no weapons.

"Although it is too early to draw conclusions about this morning's shootings ... we know that the NYPD officers on the scene had reason to believe that an altercation involving a firearm was about to happen and were trying to stop it," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.

Kelly said the incident stemmed from an undercover operation inside the strip club. Seven officers in plain clothes were investigating the Kalua Cabaret, and five were involved in the shooting. The gunfire also hit nearby homes and a train station, though no residents were injured.

A veteran officer fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said. All the officers carried 9 mm handguns.

The groom, who was driving, was identified as Sean Bell, 23. Joseph Guzman, 31, was in the front seat and was shot at least 11 times. Trent Benefield, 23, who was in the back seat, was hit three times. Both men were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. Guzman was listed in critical condition and Benefield was in stable condition.

Kelly said there may have been a fourth person in the car who fled the scene.

Three officers, including the officer hit by the car, were treated and released. Another detective remained hospitalized for blood pressure, Kelly said.

A grand jury was investigating the incident. Kelly said none of the five veteran officers had ever discharged their weapons in the line of duty. He has not been able to interview the officers because the district attorney must first complete an investigation, he said.

The undercover officers were inside the club to document illicit activity, Kelly said. With one more violation the club would be shut down, Kelly said.

He said the establishment has a "chronic history of narcotics, prostitution and weapons complaints."

The shooting drew angry protests from family members and civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton.

On Sunday morning, a few hours before a planned noon vigil for the victims, Sharpton told ABC's "Good Morning America" that the volume of shots fired alone raised questions about the police's actions.

"How does one justify 50 shots at unarmed men?" Sharpton asked.

Sharpton went to the hospitals where the men were taken Saturday and afterward held news conferences. At Jamaica Hospital, the civil rights advocate stood with about two dozen members of Bell's and his fiancee's family.

"I will stand with this family," he said. "This stinks. Something about the story being told did not seem right."

Sharpton said Bell and his fiancee had two children, ages 3 years and 5 months.

At Mary Immaculate Hospital, Sharpton said he was outraged to find the survivors handcuffed to their hospital beds. He said Guzman suffered 17 wounds, though it was unclear how many were bullet wounds, and Benefield was shot three times.

"We're not anti-police ... we're anti-police brutality," he said.

The two were unshackled later Saturday and have not been charged with a crime.

Denise Ford, mother of one of the surviving shooting victims, told WCBS-TV correspondent Tamsen Fadal that the men's car hit another vehicle as they left the club after celebrating the groom's impending wedding.

"They made a mistake and ran into a DT car," she said, whereupon she claimed officers exited their car and opened fire.

Bullets pierced another car, a house and a window of a nearby train platform.

Ford blamed what she described as the police officers' over-reaction to the accident: "They're too hotheaded — something needs to be done about them."

Robert Porter, who identified himself as Bell's first cousin, said he was supposed to be a DJ at the wedding. He said about 250 people were invited and were flying in from all over the country. He said his cousin wasn't the type to confront police and that he was "on the straight and narrow."

"I still don't want to believe it," Porter said, "a beautiful day like this, and he was going to have a beautiful wedding, he was going to live forever with his wife and children. And this happened."

In 1999, police killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who was shot 19 times in the Bronx. The four officers in that case were acquitted of criminal charges.

And in 2003, Ousmane Zongo, 43, a native of the western African country of Burkina Faso who repaired art and musical instruments in a Manhattan warehouse, was shot to death during a police raid. Zongo was hit four times, twice in the back.

[gumea]

Denise Ford mother of one of the surviving victims said. "Bell hit the unmarked police car by accident whereupond the plain colths officers exited the car a open fired." Sounds to me Bell had no idea who these men were and he feared for his life and tryed to protect himself. Officers in plain cloths waving a gun would scare anybody. I'm sure if Bell seen a bage, officers identified themself or heard one warning shot followed by a police commaned he would have stoped. Failer to commuicate is a major problem in this world. Lord help us if shoot first ask questions later becomes the new reality. I pray that we all do our part to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. My condolence to the familys involved in this terrable tragedy.

[niyaloved]

Selah I%u2019m offended by your comment,& I am not a crackhead.I know you%u2019re not ignorant, so respect yourself & don't portray yourself as such.I%u2019m not here to bash nor disrespect you & you should do the same for others you offended.
Because the club has a history of being a crack bar does not mean that everybody who goes there is a crackhead, or a dope dealer. Think about it, everyday shoplifters go into the very same store as you, does that make you one of them? You can%u2019t imply that those men were part of that subculture, the few % that gives us a bad name is what people like you look & dwell upon. Ok he crashed into a cop car it%u2019s replaceable but human life isn%u2019t, so the comment "good job for taking him out of the Gene pool%u201D defines your character as inhumane, what%u2019s more important than human life?
The comment on Sharpton, he%u2019s an advocate just as other public speakers who have the guts to go out & speak for his people & others. If it wasn't for people like him & Dr. King, minorities would always be behind.I remind you this place you so heavily call America was built by the Strength, blood, sweat, & hands of the Black MAN, motivated by the tears of the black woman; these are the people we call slaves. Yet we had to fight for our free rights & privileges, get with the program because anger & hatred will only destroy you. Before you tell someone to learn the facts, you need to learn your history & open your mind.

[usawatchman]

POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE

GET US(A) out of the UN,
NO to WORLD GOVERNMENT
NO to THIRD WORLD GOVERNMENT
NO to COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT

STOP VIOLATING OUR RIGHTS
STOP KILLING OUR CHILDREN

WE THE PEOPLE are TIRED
of THIS POLICE STATE
and
A TWO TIERED JUSTICE SYSTEM

Where there is ONE JUSTICE for the GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
(Bureaucrats / Politicians)
and
ONE JUSTICE for the PEOPLE (Peasants)

POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE POLICE STATE

[usawatchman]

These people are tired of living in a POLICE STATE
THEY ARE NOT SLAVES TO THE POLICE AND THEIR CRIMINAL CRONIES...
This is the second WILD COPS shoot INNOCENT THIRD PERSON in a week
(the guy in the passenger seat has no control over driving the car..)
The guy was probably trying to get away from the UNDERCOVER COP
who was acting like a THUG FROM THE HOOD, and not like a COP


THE PROBLEM IS YOU DON"T HAVE COPS
LIVING IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THEY PATROL...
and the rest is racist COPS
you know the kind of ROTTEN COP that fires 2.06 magazines - 31 bullets
into a car with 2-3 other INNOCENT PEOPLE
who at his 31st shot yet to see
ONE GUN FIRE COMING OUT OF THE CAR...

IMHO, that cop should go to jail for assault and MURDER...

[troubled132]

All together the main issue here is that anyone has the right to enter any bar at any time as long as they are of age to do so,there for it does not give the police department the right to go around opening fire on an innnocent person under the fact of an investagation on a certain buisness for drugs.The police department dont have the right to assume that all people that go into the buisness, thats under investagation either has something to do with drugs or firearms!Remeber thats why there must be an investagation towards all involved to prosecute.Thats why we have a court system!!!!!!!!My heart goes out to what should have been the happiest day of the bride to be's LIFE!!!!!!

[bob_burd]

Hey, if you took offense because you're a crackhead, TOUGH SHlT !!

Selah

[MonsterSound]

so - Selah - you're saying that it's OK for police to put 50 bullets into you, if you have an accident in a bad neighbourhood at night? Who needs logic anyhow?

Please all do not reply to HumanCitizen post. let the witch express herself. But by no means do not reply.

[whatithink-2009]

HumanCitizen,

Black, white or purple, you are one sick human citizen.

[walkbyfaith1]

New York City has a history of this sort of injustice; it was encouraged and tolerated at its worst under Rudy Guilliani's tenure as mayor - when we witnessed the cold blooded murder of Amadou Diallo. The murderers in that case were never brought to justice. Also the atrocities against Abner Louima were never properly prosecuted. NYC cannot allow the devil to make these kinds of deposits in the city without expecting him to come back at some point to collect - like he did on September 11, 2001, when hundreds of policemen and firemen were killed. I pray that the new mayor has the character and backbone to lead a swift and just response to this murder, because if he fails, NYC can expect something worst than what happened on September 11, 2001. Residents from all corners of the city and this nation should pull together against this sort of evil and work as one united front toward the end of justice in this case.

[glen_49446]

its ok that these guy are black, you think just because they are black they are doing something wrong. but if they were white then you would be mad as hell. in gods eyes we are the same. ack your age and not your shoe size. color of your skin should not matter. the undercover cops should have called for marked cops before they opened fire.

[tajomari]

This is not a race issue. This is an issue of justice. There is no reason in the world that police should just began shooting at anyone. I personally resent Mayor Bloomberg responding with no sympathy at all for these victims. Were they trying to commit crimes? No. They were celebrating a special event, which is common. I really pray that these police brutlity slinging officers pay dearly for this crime. If they get killed, it is automatic death penalty. What should the punishment be for them?

[nsri1982]

This story illustrates the lack of intelligence and credibility police officers generally have. Most departments employ mentally unstable and egotistical men.

It is amazing how the general public places these people (and fire fighters), as heroes and god-like citizens.

The men involved in this deplorable act should be jailed for at least 10 years. God bless the family.

[quietq8]

I am sorry but I agree with the many millions of people, black, white, red, pink or yellow, the shooting was extreme. I also believe that reporters purposely put up the whole hype of Sean Bell being a groom to get the sympathy and hearts of the millions.
Someone mentioned that they must have been up to no good if they were in a club known for breaking the law. I kind of sort of agree with that. A wise man is not going to put himself in a compromising position, let alone a position which could possibly cost him his life or his rights as a free man.

Yes, an investigation is fair, however the 50 gun shots were not. It was extreme. Someone commented on being in Iraq..... Now why would war guns be used in situations other than war? Sean was not in his right mind and the police officers clearly reacted unwisely, irresponsibly, and carelessly. I'm sure they have a reason for their actions however they still neglected to do the response check. The check to see if someone is actually shooting back. So what! He was driving into cars. As long as the cars were empty and no one was getting hurt, there was no need for the extreme amount of gun shots. Even the officer who did get hit, he's still alive. Sean is dead. Whatever happened to shooting the tires out by the way?

[glen_49446]

so if you have a car wreck you should be killed by the cops. that one way to clean up the streets.
maybe the guys thought they mite be being robbed, being the cops were undercover and not in there normal police clothing. that still don't give the cops the rite to shoot them. if it does then i'm done driving. I have a car wreck. thank god that the cops did not open fire on me or the other car that was in the wreck with me.

[fjinnw]

50 shots! thats a lot of bullets. They are human, not shooting targets, this is execution. In my country, China, we shoot them first and charged them later and thats was 20 years ago, now its still happaned in America ,talk about human rights.

[stiff02]

Not to mention HumanCitizen had a point. What if those guys instead of hitting a cop (as if thats not enough) what it it was a child. Or a mom? Or better yet, how much would Al Sharpton be crying if the victim was white?

[nsri1982]

This clearly illustrates not only the intelligence level of most officers, but there immense egos as well. It is embarrassment to human nature that some citizens hold these people (and firefighters) as local and national heroes. How about respecting any hardworking individual in society regardless of the profession.

Each officer involved in this should serve at least 10 years in prison.

[stiff02]

Listen, yes the cops could have overreacted, yes the men could have been intentionally trying to run down people. What it comes down to is that the cops were doing the best the could at the time. How many of you have been in a situation where your or someone's life was in danger? You have to make a decision in a tenth of a second. And some say 50 bullets? yes, I was in Iraq and bullets ricochet off of everything, the dash the steering wheel, the windshield. These are 9mm rounds! They dont stop a thing! If cops had .45's and then shot 50 rounds, yes that is too much. But when you have an "so-called" drunk irratic driver driving into police vehicles, and other civilians the guns must be drawn. Al Sharpton needs to sit down and wait. Close his mouth and wait for the investigation. I've never in my life see someone so ready to judge and condemn as that man, for being a Reverend I think thats quite odd.

[glen_49446]

this comment is to people like eddieg5234 and people like him, the cops are no better then me or you. If we did that we would have been sitting in a jail cell so fast it would make are head spin. I hope it don't happen to you or some one you love.
even if they had a criminal record they are still people. these cops shot them like dogs.