Police fire 50 shots at unarmed men!

[mephistopheles]

New York Cops Questioned Over Groom Killing - AOL News

NEW YORK (Nov. 26) - Sean Bell and his fiancee had already shared a high school romance, then two children. In the early hours of what was to be their wedding day, the reception hall lay waiting, covered in satin and adorned with balloons. But the ceremony never occurred Saturday. Police shot 50 rounds at the groom's car as he drove away from his bachelor party, killing the 23-year-old hours before he was to walk down the aisle.

The hail of gunfire at a car full of unarmed men drew an outcry from family members and community leaders. Two passengers, who had been celebrating with the groom at a strip club, were also injured; one was struck by at least 11 bullets.

The officers' shots struck the men's car 21 times after it rammed into an undercover officer and hit an unmarked NYPD minivan, police said. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said it was too early to say whether the shooting was justified.

The gunfire also sprayed nearby homes and a train station, though no residents were injured.

Police thought one of the men in the car might have had a gun, but investigators found no weapons. It was unclear what prompted police to open fire, Kelly said.

He said the incident stemmed from an undercover operation inside the strip club in Queens. Seven officers in plain clothes were investigating the Kalua Cabaret; five of them were involved in the shooting.

According to Kelly, the groom was involved in a verbal dispute outside the club after 4 a.m. One of his friends made a reference to a gun.

An undercover officer walked closely behind Bell and his friends as they headed for their car. As he walked toward the front of the vehicle, they drove forward -- striking him and a nearby undercover police vehicle.

The officer who had followed the group on foot was apparently the first to open fire, Kelly said. That officer had served on the force for five years. One 12-year veteran fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said.

It was the first time any of the officers, all of whom carried 9 mm handguns, had been involved in a shooting, he said.

At some point, Bell backed his car up onto the sidewalk, hitting a building gate. He then drove forward, striking the police vehicle a second time, Kelly said.

It was unclear whether the shooters had identified themselves as police, said Kelly, whose account was based on statements made by witnesses and the two officers who did not shoot their weapons. Police could not question the other officers because the district attorney must first complete an investigation, he said.

The groom was driving. Joseph Guzman, 31, was in the front passenger's 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, where 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 hypertension, Kelly said.

Abraham Kamara, 38, who lives a few blocks from where the shooting occurred, said he was getting ready for work around 4 a.m. when he heard bursts of gunfire.

"First it was like four shots," he said. "And then it was like pop-pop-pop like 12 times."

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

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

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

Sharpton went to Jamaica Hospital, where Bell was pronounced dead, and Mary Immaculate Hospital on Saturday and held news conferences afterward. At Jamaica Hospital, the civil rights advocate stood with about two dozen members of the families of Bell and his fiancee.

"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, a 3-year-old and a 5-month-old.

After meeting with the two wounded men at Mary Immaculate, Sharpton said he was outraged to find the pair handcuffed to their hospital beds. The two were unshackled later Saturday and have not been charged with a crime.

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

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 to the ceremony 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 can't really express myself. It's a numb feeling," Porter said. "I still don't want to believe it, 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."

___

Associated Press Writers Jennifer Peltz, Tom Hays and Cristian Salazar contributed to this report.


11/26/06 06:08 EST

This whole police brutality thing is getting out of hand.

 

[BlackCock85]

New York Cops Questioned Over Groom Killing - AOL News



This whole police brutality thing is getting out of hand.

It sure is! I saw this a few times on the news and it's just very sad.

 

[jeff black]

What bothers me the most about this is the fact that the Police have issued no statements to explain why this happened. Everytime it is mentioned, reporters are heard saying " The police are looking into the incident".

I want to know why it happened. I mean, without visual confirmation of a gun, cops could have fired one, maybe two shots.
To fire 50 shots, you need one hell of a good reason. I want to hear what it is.

 

[mephistopheles]

To fire 50 shots, you need one hell of a good reason. I want to hear what it is.

Indeed... This is excessive and unecessary, and fucking stupid to boot... I can't wait to hear this excuse...

And I'm actually surprised they didnt plant a gun.

 

[OKFarmer]

According to more recent info, there were 17 arrest warrants in place for passengers inside the vehicle before the shooting. Did the cops know this before firing? Who knows.

A standard issue 9mm in NYC for cops is a Glock with a 17 round clip. The trigger is also set heavier for these weapons to reduce accidental discharge. For one cop to fire 31 rounds with this weapon simply astonishes me.

 

[jeff black]

According to more recent info, there were 17 arrest warrants in place for passengers inside the vehicle before the shooting. Did the cops know this before firing? Who knows.

A standard issue 9mm in NYC for cops is a Glock with a 17 round clip. The trigger is also set heavier for these weapons to reduce accidental discharge. For one cop to fire 31 rounds with this weapon simply astonishes me.

IS that how we catch those with warrants?

 

[SpeedoGuy]

Sounds like it might have been a blatant case of DWB.

 

[jeff black]

Sounds like it might have been a blatant case of DWB.

Coulda sworn they were caucasian.

 

[Rikter8]

Sounds like it might have been a blatant case of DWB.

I wouldn't say so... I'd say more like Inside Hit, or Mafia...

I don't think his color had anything to do with it.......

Anybody that's been trained on firearms knows that you dont fire unless you intend to kill, AND hit your target.

So, either these were the shittest cops on planet Earth and couldnt hit the broadside of a barn to safe their life..... OR...it was an Inside Job...

There's always more to the story once you start digging in

 

[b.c.]

Sounds like it might have been a blatant case of DWB.

Yep...more of what someone here once referred to as "imaginary" or "barely there" racism.

 

[transformer_99]

Another bad incident with ties to UM,

UM Basketball Coach's Nephew Shot, Killed - News - Local10.com | WPLG

not long ago one of their football players was shot and killed as well.

 

[Paul Vincent]

That's what happens in a country where its your God Given right to own a gun...people get trigger happy. There was no need for it.

Am I justified to shoot at someone who rams into MY car? Honestly, I wouldn't get so upset as to TRY TO KILL whoever it was. I might at most take down their registration (license No.)

That's ridiculous. Or were those cops just planning to 'scare' them? Which is still stupid. The whole thing is outrageous. And how someone survived 11 gunshots I'll never know.

The shooter(s) probably had a small dick :tongue:

 

[Nitrofiend]

It's another Amado Dialo thing. I think these cases should be studied so it can be determined what causes cops to open fire so relentlessly on people without following the rules of engagement. It's just plain bizarre.

 

[baseball99]

Cops wont make a statement until an investigation is complete. News media has labeled it excessive.....wtf do they know, they report news. All we know is at some point the driver drove and hit an undercover police officer and then hit an undercover police car. Was he trying to get away bc he was fired at and fleeing for his life? Or was he tryin to get away bc he had something to hide? We wont know until an investigation is complete.....Let's be realistic tho if you have absolutely nothing to hide, why would you run from cops?

And if i hear one more time that they were shot bc they were black im gonna scream.....werent several of the cops minorities as well?

I'm just wondering why the guy just didnt stop, put his hands on his head and cooperate

also none of the cops had ever been involved in a shootout before.....theres a lot more to the story than people know and premature opinions dont help the situation either way

 

[ital8]

As an American, I feel that this country needs to have a better control on gun violence. I don't know what the answer is. I know some people will say, "take the guns away". But just like drugs, guns will get smuggled into this country regardless. I don't understand how other industrialized nations have such lower gun violence. Take Canada for instance-still allowed to own a gun, but there are lower homicide rates by use of a firearm. Some may say that we need stiffer jail sentences, but the U.S does hand out some very tough sentences for homicides. We're one of the very few industrialized nations that still enforce the death penalty (although I don't really regard it as a deterant). Maybe, it's just a lack of respect for a firearm or too many poverty stricken areas are infested with so much violence that it all becomes desensitized. Don't get me wrong, I love this country, but this has always been an issue that boggles my mind.

 

[transformer_99]

That's what happens in a country where its your God Given right to own a gun...people get trigger happy. There was no need for it.

Am I justified to shoot at someone who rams into MY car? Honestly, I wouldn't get so upset as to TRY TO KILL whoever it was. I might at most take down their registration (license No.)

That's ridiculous. Or were those cops just planning to 'scare' them? Which is still stupid. The whole thing is outrageous. And how someone survived 11 gunshots I'll never know.

The shooter(s) probably had a small dick :tongue:

Paul, I know accidents happen when someone hits anyone with a car, but to be honest, the chances of dieing or being permanently injured by car vs a gun, well, you can look at the statistics. We live in a nation that is appalled by over 3,000 US lives lost in Iraq, yet want to get the NAACP involved when someone uses their car to not only threaten but batter another. Yeah, if someone purposefully rams you with 3,000 lbs of motor vehicle, I give anyone the green light to shoot the driver, and those that are passengers are just collateral damage, regardless of how big anyone's d*ck is. I've been rear ended by a drunk driver before, and if it were legal to shoot the driver, I would've that night and not lost any sleep over it.

I don't make excuses for what happened, but when you have people behaving like this and the one starts talking trash about having a gun, then assaults and batters an innocent person with a deadly weapon (a car), well, the situation was a powderkeg that went off. These people didn't conduct themselves appropriately and the threat was carried out with a car, those who had guns finished the job and now there are those that don't like it ? As unfortunate as it is, as callous as it may sound, life goes on.

 

[Nitrofiend]

Was he trying to get away bc he was fired at and fleeing for his life? Or was he tryin to get away bc he had something to hide? We wont know until an investigation is complete.....Let's be realistic tho if you have absolutely nothing to hide, why would you run from cops?

And if i hear one more time that they were shot bc they were black im gonna scream.....werent several of the cops minorities as well?

I'm just wondering why the guy just didnt stop, put his hands on his head and cooperate

also none of the cops had ever been involved in a shootout before.....theres a lot more to the story than people know and premature opinions dont help the situation either way

What country do you live in? Blacks get brutalized by cops all the time, and they get racial profiled all the time. And many people are afraid or distrustful of cops, and that's why they run. I don't think running from cops is quite enough evidence for probable cause. But if the reports are true... 50 SHOTS??? That's a hell of a lot of firepower for a few unarmed men. You're right about waiting for more information about it, but already this has a very fishy smell to it because it's not cut and dry.

 

[rob_just_rob]

As an American, I feel that this country needs to have a better control on gun violence. I don't know what the answer is. I know some people will say, "take the guns away". But just like drugs, guns will get smuggled into this country regardless. I don't understand how other industrialized nations have such lower gun violence. Take Canada for instance-still allowed to own a gun, but there are lower homicide rates by use of a firearm. Some may say that we need stiffer jail sentences, but the U.S does hand out some very tough sentences for homicides. We're one of the very few industrialized nations that still enforce the death penalty (although I don't really regard it as a deterant). Maybe, it's just a lack of respect for a firearm or too many poverty stricken areas are infested with so much violence that it all becomes desensitized. Don't get me wrong, I love this country, but this has always been an issue that boggles my mind.

This is a very interesting post. I'd love to see some explanations as to why there is so much more gun violence - or violence in general - in the USA than in, say, Spain or Canada or Japan.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

This is a very interesting post. I'd love to see some explanations as to why there is so much more gun violence - or violence in general - in the USA than in, say, Spain or Canada or Japan.

rob, in my view the answer is quite simple.

Americans love violence. We're raised on it and inundated in it. Violence is like weather. We love to watch it, talk about it, threaten it, fear it, obsess about it, romanticize it, write about it, remember it, wallow in it, plan for it, pay to see it, pay to prevent it, disdain it, complain about it, blame others for it, etc.

Just the other day I was looking at the videos for rent at a local video store down the road from my house. Fully one half the video box covers on the shelf featured an actor brandishing, aiming, loading, shooting or packing some kind of gun. One half. Many other videos featured other acts of violence.

We love it.

 

[rob_just_rob]

SpeedoGuy,

That's one explanation, to be sure.

But since violence is an unpleasant thing, it doesn't make sense that any rational person would love it for its own sake, the way people love puppies, chocolate and making fun of mimes.

So, I'll quote you,

rob, in my view the answer is quite simple.

Americans love violence. We're raised on it and inundated in it. Violence is like weather. We love to watch it, talk about it, threaten it, fear it, obsess about it, romanticize it, write about it, remember it, wallow in it, plan for it, pay to see it, pay to prevent it, disdain it, complain about it, blame others for it, etc.

Just the other day I was looking at the videos for rent at a local video store down the road from my house. Fully one half the video box covers on the shelf featured an actor brandishing, aiming, loading, shooting or packing some kind of gun. One half. Many other videos featured other acts of violence.

We love it.

and ask: Why?