‘We remember Sean Bell’

New York City protest Feb. 25. WW photos: Greg Butterfield

On Feb. 25, community members and activists rallied on snowy sidewalks outside the Queens, N.Y., courthouse to demand justice for Sean Bell. Inside, family, friends and supporters packed the courtroom as three New York police detectives went on trial for killing the young Black man and wounding two others, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, on Nov. 25, 2006.

Bell and his friends were leaving his bachelor party when the cops unleashed a hail of 50 bullets. The three men were unarmed.

Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Paultre-Bell, gave tearful testimony inside the courtroom, noting that she last saw him “in the morgue” on what should have been their wedding day. Bell was also a father of two.

Detectives Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, and Mark Cooper pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. The cops had tried to get a change of venue outside New York City, hoping that a mostly-white upstate jury would vindicate them—a tactic used successfully in previous police brutality cases.

The change of venue was denied. But the cops then demanded a bench trial—which means that Judge Arthur Cooperman, not a jury, will decide the case.

In his opening statement, Queens prosecutor Charles Testagrossa pointed out that the detectives didn’t properly identify themselves as police before brandishing weapons and opening fire. Testagrossa said the detectives’ conduct “was carelessness verging on incompetence.”

It’s clear, however, that the district attorney’s office has no plans to raise more serious and relevant issues, like the racist New York Police Department’s occupation of oppressed communities and its shoot-first, ask-questions-later stance toward people of color.

At the protest outside, community members were much clearer about the stakes. “In my neighborhood the cops will arrest you even if you’re not doing anything,” said Renee Harris-Pinkney. “I’m out here today because this could have happened to any one of my three sons.”

A prayer vigil led by the Rev. Al Sharpton preceded the opening of the trial. Later, community members and activist groups organized a picket line, held signs, drummed and chanted, “Remember Sean Bell,” “No justice, no peace,” and “Death to police terrorism.” The New York Times falsely reported the latter’s demand as “fringe groups’ call for violence against the police.”

Groups participating in the protest included People’s Justice Coalition, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, the New Black Panther Party, the National Action Network and the International Action Center.

The trial is expected to continue for several weeks.