NEW YORK — Civil rights leaders demanded a federal investigation and vowed to march through the streets in protest after three police officers were cleared of all charges Friday in the killing of an unarmed man cut down in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day.
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.
Bell, a 23-year-old black man, was killed outside a seedy strip club in Queens in 2006 as he was leaving his bachelor party with two friends. The officers — undercover detectives who were investigating reports of prostitution at the club — said they thought one of the men had a gun.
The slaying heightened tensions in the city and stoked long-standing allegations of racism and excessive use of force on the part of New York City’s police, even though two of the officers charged are black.
In announcing his verdict in the nonjury trial, the judge said the inconsistent testimony, courtroom demeanor and rap sheets of the prosecution witnesses — mainly Bell’s friends — “had the effect of eviscerating” their credibility.
“At times, the testimony just didn’t make sense,” the judge said.
Police had assigned extra officers to the courthouse and had helicopters in the air to help deal with any unrest. But within an hour, the angry, weeping crowd of about 200 people outside the courthouse had scattered, and despite a few scuffles, no arrests were made.
Oliver and Gescard Isnora were acquitted of charges that included manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. The third officer, Marc Cooper, faced lesser charges.
The verdict does not entirely resolve issues surrounding the case.
After the verdict, the U.S. attorney’s office said it will look into the case and “take appropriate action if the evidence indicates a prosecutable violation of federal criminal civil rights statutes.”
In addition, relatives of the victims have sued the city, and those cases could either go to trial or be settled out of court with the potential for multimillion-dollar payouts.
Also, the officers, who had been on paid leave, still face possible departmental charges that could result in their firing. While the judge found that the officers’ behavior was not criminal, he added, “Questions of carelessness and incompetence must be left to other forums.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who represents Bell’s family, demanded a federal investigation.
“This verdict is one round down, but the fight is far from over,” the civil rights leader said on his radio show. He said he is organizing “economic withdrawal” and “civil disobedience” that could involve going to jail and marching on Wall Street, at the judge’s house and at police headquarters.
“We are going to close the city down in a nonviolent, effective way,” Sharpton said. “We’re going to hit the pocketbooks. We’re going to let you know that we are not going to be in any way diverted from exercising our civil rights.”
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