New Witness Emerges In NYC Groom Shooting

(CBS/AP)  A last-minute, mystery witness testified Thursday before a grand jury that already had begun deliberating whether to charge five police officers in the death of an unarmed man on his wedding day.

The man testified for about an hour, a person familiar with the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of the grand jury process, told The Associated Press.

The testimony came as the city anxiously awaited word on a decision by the grand jury on the fate of the five officers, who could face a range of charges in the Nov. 25 shooting that killed 23-year-old Sean Bell and wounded two of his friends.

The racial makeup of the 22-member grand jury, reports CBS News affiliate WCBS, is the following: eight are black, seven are white, four are Hispanic, two are Indian, one is Asian, and one was absent from the panel when the count was taken.

Grand jurors were instructed to consider the following charges, reports WCBS: second-degree murder, manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide stemming from Bell's death; and attempted murder, assault or reckless endangerment in the wounding of Bell's two friends.

Detectives' Endowment Association President Michael Palladino said that the new witness was a 55-year-old man who spoke little English. He went to a police station on Wednesday to say he had been working on the night of the shooting near the strip club where it occurred. Palladino had been briefed on the situation by detectives at the police station.

The man told detectives he heard the crash of vehicles and ran out to see what was happening, Palladino said. The man said he saw a black male fire one or two shots at a police officer and then flee into a nearby building. The man told detectives that he also heard police officers identifying themselves as police, Palladino said.

"I don't know where this man came from," Palladino told the AP. "But this guy could have a vital piece of information. ... The man told detectives that he didn't come forward sooner because he was afraid and overwhelmed."

It is not known if the witness is considered credible, but his testimony could help the officers if he helps convince grand jurors that the police were justified in opening fire.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has acted as a spokesman for the family of Bell and the surviving victims, said at a news conference that there's something "suspect" about a witness having a change of heart and then suddenly turning up at a police station instead of going to the prosecutor.

"Who determines what is credible, reckless or not?" Sharpton asked, adding that such testimony could taint the grand jury process. "Did he mislead investigators then? Or is he misleading investigators now?"

"This story, as told, smells," Sharpton said in an interview with the AP. He added that he wanted the state attorney general to monitor the grand jury process.

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[agnim]

Al Sharpton may well have Strom Thurmond's line of blood flowing in his veins; so how can he be all that bad? LOL

[wizest]

If Rev. Al Sharpton says it smells, he should know. if comes close to the truth, it aotta stink to high heaven.

[wizest]

If Rev. Al Sharpton says it smells, he should know. if comes close to the truth, it aotta stink to high heaven.

[agnim]

what happened to separation of church and state. Why is a Reverand involved in this, doesn't he have a church to go preach in?

Posted by cmp271 at 08:12 PM : Mar 15, 2007

Without people like Al Sharpton, these murdering police will just lie to a white jury and walk to repeat their crimes again and again; and the family of the victims will never be compensated.

[agnim]

"Agnim there is no need to be nasty to SusanHelit, she is entitled to her opinion also and just because it is different to yours doesnt mean that she cant voice it..

Posted by Gaye5 at 05:12 PM : Mar 15, 2007"
Who is preventing your Susan from spewing her bigoted nonsense?

I'll cut your Susan as much slack as she cuts just about the only person, Sharpton, who is willing to place his life on the line to shed light on the racist attitudes of the New York police!

You are no doubt only taking up for someone of your mentality; because you down there in your OZ are just as bigoted and despicable with the Aboriginal people you derisively call 'darkies'!

[cmp271]

what happened to separation of church and state. Why is a Reverand involved in this, doesn't he have a church to go preach in?

Sharpton is a black racist, anything that says a white person is innocent he is against. He is part of the problem in this country.

[roach9703]

Undercover work is a white-knuckle business with long periods of boredom and the need to pay attention. It was dark. There were many people milling about. A car seems quite intent on killing police officers. Drugs and alcohol are involved. This is the middle of the night.
Let's face it, black faces are hard to see the dark.
I do think, from seeing problems in Philadelphia and New York, that more firearems training is needed. Ideally, it should be weekly. Their guns should be used often enough to be confident of their use. Fifty rounds does not seem to show that confidence.
Did they really need fifty rounds here?
A gun blast has a way of freezing the mind.
Panic is a difficult thing avoid. Abuse is apart of the history of the N.Y.P.D. This why there is a grand jury. This tragedy appears to be an accident, and it is duty of all involved to thorougly understand what happened, so there is not a repeat of a tragedy like this again.

[oimiass]

Oh, re: Jesus Christ, he didn't mind being on the headlines too. One Sunday, he rode on a donkey as people lined the streets and chanted his praise. People talked about that for many, many days afterwards.

[oimiass]

Abigail,

You really do know how to read people, don't you? I'm intrigued by your powers of psychoanalysis.

Tell me, pray, what you think of this guy: Jesus Christ. He sided with the poor. Defended the weak. Spoke out against injustice. Challenged the governing powers. Was he a first class idiot too?

[bkotarsk]

Whatithink is correct on todays problems.. We are now going into the 2nd Generation where Spanking is not allowed .

Dr Spock brought this on.. In My opinion, Dr Spock's Mother should Have been the first person to use Legalized Abortion!