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Yesterday, thousands of people walked down Fifth Avenue in to protest a police shooting against three unarmed men. Sean Bell was shot to death just hours before his wedding while his two friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, were wounded in a barrage of 50 bullets in less than a minute; undercover police claimed they saw a fourth man with a gun.
The march was organized by the Reverend Al Sharpton, with the theme "shopping for justice" as many people had come into the city to shop for holiday gifts. Sharpton wants to review NYPD policies and raise the awareness of police brutality. Protesters included Guzman and Benefield, Representatives Charles Rangel and Anthony Weiner, Transit Workers Union president Roger Toussaint, City Comptroller William Thompson, Harry Belafonte, City Councilman John Liu and police brutality victim Abner Louima, who told the Daily News, "We want to make sure there are no more Sean Bells. We are not target practice."
But some shoppers from out of town didn't appreciate the protest. One woman from Maryland complained to the NY Times, "We just came here to go shopping at the American Girl store and go see the Rockettes. Now we can’t even cross the street to get our lunch." Oh, boo hoo! The Post reports that police believe 40,000 people participated in the march, which led to the police closing down much of Fifth Avenue.
Among the marchers was Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell. She marched with her mother and one of her daughters with Bell. The Daily News' Michael Daly writes "she has proven herself to be as magnificent a young woman as this city has seen," based on her remarks where she did not blame every cop and hoped for justice.
Photographs of the protest by Shiho Fukada/AP; lower photograph shows the Reverend Al Sharpton, shooting victim Trent Benefield (in wheelchair), police brutality victim Abner Louima (in suit) and Bell's fiancee Nicole Paultre Bell (in yellow jacket)
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This is not an insensitive comment-- it's a serious question that maybe someone can help me with.
I am seriously upset by this situation-- i have a real knee jerk reaction against cops, and especially cops using their guns, but I also have a knee jerk reaction against drunk drivers.
Wasn't Sean Bell driving drunk, and moreover, using his car as a weapon? I think that's what the graphic on the times showed.
50 shots is a lot, but wasn't it a justified attempt to stop a dangerous driver who was trying to hurt the cops with his car?
If you have a serious rebuttal I'd appreciate it, also with links to information.
Thanks, Eric
I don't think anyone can truly answer your questions based on hearsay.
Was he driving drunk? Did the ME report mention this? and, the car as a weapon, why aren't all the hit and runs in the city using that argument to put the drivers in jail or at least charged with something. Maybe they are, maybe I'm too jaded because I'm seeing a hit and run almost everyday in the news.
And you'd have to also ask, wasn't the driver trying to get away from a person aiming a gun at them?
STOP SHOWBOATING, AL SHARPTON. GO AWAY. NYC DOES NOT WANT YOU HERE.
ONE of the 5 cops was white. This is NOT a race issue. Yes, its sad. But twisting the truth into some sick appeal is worse.
To be sure what happened that night is still unknown, so your confusion is shared by many, eric.
Another possible interpretation is that Bell and friends leave the club and into Bell's car. They've had a bit to drink and they've had an argument with someone else. A cop or cops approach with guns drawn, but not identifying themselves. Thinking he's about to get carjacked or shot Bell drives into the officer to protect himself and to escape. Now the cops are being attacked so they open fire.
I'm not saying this is what happened, just that there's enough facts unknown that the events could be interpreted this way. With any luck the Queens DA can piece together the series of events, but we may never know the exact course of tragic events.
What are you talking about Rich?
I looked at the article concering article that gothamist linked, and never once was race mentioned.
Maybe he is involved because of the parties involved are african americans, but all the points he's been bringing up are concerning police practices and nothing about racial issues...unless I missed something.
Oh please.
The only time Sharpton ever gets involved in anything, its because he can turn it into a blacks getting wronged by whites situation.
If its Asians, Hispanics, or anyone else involved, he keeps his fat mouth shut.
That's the first time I've ever seen Black people on fifth avenue. Usually they can't afford to shop there.
Oh my god, Sanford, you're soooo hilarious! Please take the time to write another funny comment! Ha ha ha, you crack me up! OMG!!!
rich, I think it's preferable to have peaceful protest than let it boil over into something more.
What a lot of people don't realize is: protests like this help defuse tensions, preventing something worse from happening.
Right or Wrong, a large number of people are angry about what happened.
this isn't the late 80s, and this isn't the tawana brawley incident.
sharpton is one of the very few figureheads in the "black community", whether you like him or not, that will bring visibility to a matter, and he has a lot of connections to a lot of people who can affect change. same with jesse jackson. both are contentious on different levels, but one thing is for certain--this sean bell affair is getting national attention for their involvements in it. i'm certain the nypd would prefer this to be swept under the rug; regardless of the race of the officers involved, the nypd has a long, egregious history of brutality, period. and now they're being called into account.
and about the drinking question: why isn't anyone talking about the officers involved who were undercover and drinking? seems a bit unprofessional to me, especially if they're armed.