Mar 19, 2007 2:45 pm US/Pacific
3 N.Y. Cops Surrender To Face Charges
NEW YORK (CBS News) ―
Three police officers surrendered Monday to face charges in a shooting that killed an unarmed groom on his wedding day and stirred outrage around the city.
The officers were accused of firing nearly 50 shots at three young men in a car outside a nightclub, killing Sean Bell and seriously wounding two of his friends. The other two other officers involved were not indicted.
The eight-count indictment charges Detectives Michael Oliver, who fired 31 times, and Gerard Isnora, a decorated undercover who fired 11 bullets, with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the death of bridegroom Bell, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said at a news conference.
CBS station WCBS-TV in New York reports that first-degree manslaughter is classified as a violent felony with mandated jail time — a maximum of 25 years — if the officers are convicted, Brown said. Second-degree manslaughter gives a judge discretion to sentence a defendant to probation.
Detective Marc Cooper, who fired four shots, faces a misdemeanor endangerment charge, Brown said.
"We are a long way from a conviction," said defense attorney Philip Karasyk, who represents Isnora.
The Bell case has renewed allegations that the NYPD is too trigger-happy, and sparked protests by activists who say the department is too quick to judge black men harshly, a claim city officials deny.
Bell was black, as are the two bachelor party guests who were severely wounded, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. Cooper, 39, and Isnora, 28, are also black; Oliver, 35, is white.
"This case, at its best, is a return to grief for all of those involved," the Rev. Al Sharpton said at a news conference with the wounded men and Bell's fiance.
"This grand jury acted in the most responsible and conscientious fashion," said Brown. "This was a case that was, I'm sure, not easy for them to resolve."
Monday morning, the three policemen surrendered to the NYPD's Bureau of Internal Affairs, then were whisked to the Queens court complex. A phalanx of plainclothes law enforcers and family members surrounded them as they were rushed into the building for fingerprinting and processing.
Later, all three pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Sharpton was present in the courtroom, along with shooting survivors Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. Also attending were Bell's mother and Nicole Paultre Bell, who was engaged to Bell and legally took his name after he died.
Each officer stood, hands clasped, for the entire 20-minute hearing. Oliver and Cooper looked straight ahead; Isnora occasionally bowed his head.
State Supreme Court Justice Randall Eng set bail for Oliver and Isnora at $250,000 bond, or $100,000 cash. Cooper was released without bail.
Brown said he would oppose any attempts to get a change of venue for the trial.
"This is where public opinion is equally divided, in my opinion. The jury should be representative of the diversity of this county," he said.
Grand jurors declined to indict on the more serious counts of second-degree murder, and attempted murder, or the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Bell was killed Nov. 25 as he left his bachelor party.
Sunday's New York Post published a paparazzi photo of Oliver dining at a pricey East Side restaurant, looking as if he was not worried about the looming indictment.
But detective's union President Michael Palladino is worried about pre-judging in the case, something he says began with a statement by Mayor Bloomberg immediately following the shooting.
"It's hard to understand why 50-odd shots should be taken. To me that sounds excessive and unacceptable," New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said after the shooting.
Police have said the officers were involved in an undercover investigation at the nightclub when they overheard a conversation that convinced them the men were going to their car to retrieve a gun. They have said that Bell's car hit the unmarked police vehicle and that the officers believed someone in Bell's car was reaching for a gun when they opened fire. No gun was found.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
