Victims in Sean Bell Shooting Testify During Grand Jury

Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, who were in their friend Sean Bell's car when police fired 50 times at them, testified before the grand jury yesterday. While they did not tell reporters what they said about the shooting that after Bell's bachelor party, Benefield said, "We just need justice." Guzman, who was hospitalized for two months and is still in a wheelchair due to his wounds, said, "We've been waiting for this for a long time; this is the first step. We have a long road ahead of us. To sit here and think about it hurts."

Guzman and Benefield have maintained that the undercover police did not identify themselves and that Bell and they were unarmed during a chaotic scene outside a Queens strip club last November. Bell died, a day before his wedding. Some community leaders have accused the police of aggressive and perhaps racist tactics; the police have pointed to the fact that the officers involved were white and black.

Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre-Bell, also testified. Paultre-Bell simply said, "Everything I do, every day I walk, now that’s for him." The Reverand Al Sharpton, who has been critical of the justice process related to the shooting so far, said, "Though we question local grand juries, we will go anywhere, anytime, to tell the truth until justice is served."

The grand jury, who has been reviewing evidence and hearing testimony, will decide if there is enough evidence for the Queens DA's office to indict the police. The five police officers involved in the shooting are all expected to testify next week. Detective Mike Oliver, who fired 31 of the shots, will testify, though he is, as the Daily News puts it, "is at the greatest risk of being indicted."

Photograph of memorial to Sean Bell on Liverpool Street (where the shooting occurred) by Casa de Darnoc on Flickr