March 19, 2007
Indicted Cops Involved in Bell Shooting Surrender
At 7AM, the three detectives indicted in the shooting of Sean Bell last November turned themselves. WNBC reports that Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper will be fingerprinted and processed before their arraignment this afternoon.
The grand jury came to a decision last Friday, but said it would wait until today to make the official announcement. However, news of the indictments got out when defense lawyers for the cops involved found out whether their clients were required to surrender today. It's believed that Oliver and Isnora, who fired 31 and 11 times respectively, will face manslaughter charges while Cooper will face reckless endangerment charges. A total of 50 shots were fired at Bell and his friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield outside a Queens night club where the police had been conducting an undercover operation. All three men were unarmed, and Bell was killed.
The NY Sun spoke to professor Eli Silverman at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who said, "I guess you could say the indictment was a prologue and the announcement is the beginning of the first act … The public is going to get the case of characters on all sides." The Reverend Al Sharpton said that Guzman and Benefield are getting ready for the trial and warned that the defense lawyers would try to make them look bad.
And even police insiders are upset at Oliver's $4,200 dinner Saturday night. Even though a friend paid for the meal, one police union source told the Daily News, "He just got himself convicted. We have to rein him in before he gets the other guys convicted, too. It's all about perception."
Update: The indictment was unsealed, and there will be a lot of jail time for Oliver and Isnora, if found guilty. (You can read the charges after the jump.) The Reverend Al Sharpton, who appeared outside the Queens County Courthouse with Bell's family, said the charges should have gone further: "There clearly was evidence to warrant murder and attempted murder." He also said, "All officers in fact shot. All officers in fact should have been charged. All officers acted in concert." The Politicker also notes that Sharpton thinks a trial held outside of Queens County would "insulting" and "We will not participate, attend or cooperate" if it is held somewhere else.
Queens DA Richard Brown said, "I want to commend the prosecutors and investigators from my office who have worked on this case since its inception. They are to be commended for their dedication, their thoroughness, their impartiality -- and, most of all for their professionalism."
Photograph of Sharpton surrounded by Bell's mother, fiancee, and friends by Mary Altaffer/AP
Detective Michael Oliver:
-- One count of first-degree manslaughter (accused of causing the death of Bell while intending to seriously injure his friend Joseph Guzman). Five to 25 years in prison if convicted. Some jail time is mandatory.
-- One count of second-degree manslaughter (accused of recklessly causing Bell's death while aiding fellow detective Gerald Isnora). A minimum of one to three years in prison and a maximum of five to 15 years if convicted. Prison time in not mandatory.
-- Two counts of first-degree assault (accused of intentionally and seriously injuring Guzman and Trent Benefield). A felony that carries a five-to-25-year sentence. Some jail time is mandatory.
-- Two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment (accused of discharging gun multiple times on a street with people present, and of shooting gun through the window of a nearby home). One-year prison sentence, but is not mandatory.
Detective Gescard Isnora:
-- One count of first-degree manslaughter (accused of causing Bell's death while intending to seriously injure Guzman). Five to 25 years in prison if convicted. Some jail time is mandatory.
-- One count of second-degree manslaughter (accused of recklessly causing the death of Bell while aiding Oliver). A minimum of one to three years in prison and a maximum of five to 15 years if convicted. Prison time in not mandatory.
-- One count of first-degree assault (accused of intentionally and seriously injuring Guzman). A violent felony that carries a five-to-25-year sentence. Some jail time is mandatory.
-- One count second-degree assault (accused of recklessly injuring Trent Benefield). Two to seven years in prison if convicted. Some jail time is mandatory.
-- One count of second-degree reckless endangerment (accused of discharging gun multiple times on street with people present). One-year sentence if convicted, but is not mandatory.
Detective Marc Cooper:
-- Two counts second-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor (accused of discharging gun multiple times on street with people present, and for shooting a gun at an occupied AirTrain station). Up to one year behind bars, but not mandatory.
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Wow !!!! A $[4,200] dinner, He must know his career as a cop is over then ! Regardless if he had a friend pay for it . It just makes the rest of them look horrible . Well it's like they say, "If you got , Flaunt it "!
please tell me how a $4,200 dinner will convict Oliver? It's entirely inadmissible.
Ask the Detectives Union source. Why ask Gothamist?
The source already mentioned, it's all about perception.
The guy could be going to prison today... wtf is the problem with having a party.
People in this city spend more then that on shoes, stop letting our idiotic newspapers make a story out of it.
#3... my question was rhetorical. I know perception. the jury when it comes time will not be influenced by the media, i can assure you.
My grammar's influenced by a shitty day at work:
*the jury, when it comes time, will not be influenced by the media, i can assure you.*
I think that he did it so the lawyers for the cops who are being lynched by Al Sharpton can get a change of venue so they can get a less unfair trial.
Yeah, I'm a little unclear on how it is anyone's business how much his friend spends on a meal.
I don't spend over $4k on shoes? I don't know anyone who does. There are lots and I meant LOTS of poor people in this City.
Many living on less than the first year NYPD salary. I too, blame the media on sucking on the NYPD's Teat .
Shoes? This was about food. Poor people have noting to do with this thread. try to kee it on-topic.
I just saw the media coverage on television and the so called Rev. Sharpton just stated that "all the cops should be shot".
Talk about a freudian slip.
I don't know about you but they need to get a change of venue when a "reverend" is calling for this level of violence.
that was in reference to post number 4 by tom.
"People in this city spend more then that on shoes, stop letting our idiotic newspapers make a story out of it"
so, it was on topic.
and, $500 for a bottle of wine is overboard and excessive, like the 50 shots he fired.
Were there ever a shooting incident where a cop needed to reload his mag?
#12- More than you'd think. Shooting under adrenalin and stress is not easy.
Sharpton is good at one thing:
By keeping the lower-income-bracket of blacks and hispanics down trodden, he makes it near impossible for them to come up and succeed.
By keeping them down, repressed and angry he succeeds his only mission—dollar signs!
so, that means no.
There were never any shooting incidents since the adoption of semi autos by the NYPD where there were a reload done.
How was it where the supervisor with the most senority of the group did not fire his weapon?
Oh, why is Sharton involved in this? There's no mention of Sharton in the original post.
Don't worry, you Sharpton haters will get your due when there's a post on the reaction to the DA's indictments.
*Oh, why is Sharton involved in this*
He's highly involved in this situation. Just becase he's not mentioned in this particular article/thread doesn't mean his ignorance shouldn't be noted.
and, $500 for a bottle of wine is overboard and excessive, like the 50 shots he fired.
Says who? Just because you don't want to spend $500 on a bottle of wine doesn't mean other people can't. And, besides the point, it's completely unrelated to the case.
Maybe he'll spend a grand on a suit before his trial. HOLY SHIT! GUILTY!!!!!!
Where can I get me one of them spiffy SEAN BELL hoodies? Are they selling them at JAY Z's yet???
Please explain exactly the mechanism by which Al Sharpton is responsible for making people, or keeping people, "poor and downtrodden" and preventing them from coming up and succeeding? You are so full of shit, it's laughable.
I'm so glad to see Sean Bell's fiancé is "standing by her man", although he was out whoring around a few hours before he was about to consummate their marriage.
Do they sell condoms at Club Kalua?
Amen, SP. And seriously, it seems like the only people keeping Al Sharpton relevant nowadays are white people that are obsessed with hating him-I never hear black people talking about him, inside or outside the city. If they do it's as a novelty, but not with the hatred and fixation that some of the posters on here demonstrate. Seriously people, get lives.
Black riot. I wannna riot. Black riot. Riot of my own!
Sp:
I still like you even though you're an ignoramous.
"We will not participate, attend or cooperate"
Um yeah. That makes a whole lot of sense.
"All the cops should be shot".
Now we know what the Rev. Charlatan was really thinking ...
One can see how that was edited out of most if not all of the wire service coverage ... and a lot of the television coverage later.
What a joke.
Now in a $2000 suit.
God Bless You, Reverend Al Sharpton.
You must be doing something right to get whitey so angry at you.
And, I see the gothamist racist regulars are in full force.
Still waiting, ed... (you moron)
This is nuts. All men involved have been arrested for weapons related charges at some point. Not saying thats enough to warrant what happened that night, but if Bell was drunk and ramming his car at me, and I had a gun, I would definitely open fire. It has nothing to do with race.
what do you mean by "ramming"? you mean, he put the car in reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive, then reverse, then drive.
the thousand years is over.
So you're saying he's guilty, not guilty?. Guilty, not guilty?.Guilty, not guilty?.Guilty, not guilty?.Guilty, not guilty?.
You mean the Car was indicted, put in a plea and will go to trial???????????
Is that what you're saying?
Al, party or no party. Hopefully NY gets in order.
If you caught Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight, he named Al Sharpton the Worse Person in the World for today. Why, you may ask? Sharpton said several times that the 5 NYPD officers should be shot.
Check out the video from MSNBC!
It reveals a lot about Sharpton.
#12: "$500 for a bottle of wine is overboard and excessive"
Paying $500 for certain bottles of wine would be considered a bargain.
Paying $500 for that boxed White Zin that you purchased from the supermarket would indeed be excessive.
Moron.
Paying $500 for a bottle of wine is still excessive and extravagant.
boy are you an asshole.
Paying $500 for a bottle of wine is still excessive and extravagant.
For you it is cause you getting paid peanuts!
Let's see SP:
touring, er i mean protesting down 5th avenue and 125th street to specifically protest "white" establishments... hmmm...
two things: 1. counter productive. and racist. he also does nothong to help the black community. has he condemned any of the recent black shootings in union square that have involved young black men? did he condemn the undercover operation on staten island of the two slain undercover cops? is he out protesting lifestyles that are clear deterrants to the black community like: violent crime, drugs....
i think i have answered enough... if you deny any of this it's clear of two things: you're trolling or your just an ignorant f uck.
also, he has yet to apologize or pay Pagones for the tawana brawley lie he concocted back in the late 80's.
Sharpton is a media whore with one goal: self respect and dollar signs.
Wow, Gothamist regulars posting profanity!
what a shocker. Al sharpton must of raped your mother or something.
#35: "Paying $500 for a bottle of wine is still excessive and extravagant. boy are you an asshole."
And you're an idiot. Paying $500 for a glass of orange juice would be extravagant. However, wine prices have long ranged from $5 to more than $100,000. Thus your statement that "paying $500 for wine is excessive" is just plain stupid. I don't mind being an asshole to dipshits who make idiotic blanket statements.
Yep, you're still an asshole.
Being an asshole is better than being ignorant.
Who cares if the bottle was $5, $500 or $5000.
The media is trying its best, as usual, to make this cop look bad.
They will not succeed. The bottle and the dinner will never come up in the trial. The defendants (cops) will not testify and the only witnesses will be the thugs in the car, who by the way all have extensive arrest and criminal histories—the defense will rip them to shreds.