Sean Bell Shooting Photos Revealed in Court

A police detective detailed photographing the aftermath of the Sean Bell shooting as prosecutors entered 80 photographs into evidence.

The Post called the photos "horrific" and "grisly," as many showed blood on the car's seats and police-fired bullets riddled in the side of the car. They caused Bell's mother Valerie Bell to look away while Bell's fiancee Nicole Paultrie Bell "showed no emotion, but occasionally shook her head."

One of now-retired detective Dave Rivera's photographs was of a lampshade in a home 30 feet away. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez wrote, "The bullet pierced a window on the front porch, hit a lampshade near the window, got caught in the shade's fabric, then circled around to the other side of the shade, where it came to rest - bulging through the cloth material." Rivera also testified a bag of "green leafy substance" was found and that he did not find a "bubble light," a portable light that commander Lieutenant Gary Napoli claimed he was looking for during the shooting (it's hypothesized Napoli ducked).

The Queens DA's office says three undercover detectives, Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper, acted recklessly when they fired upon Bell and his friends, who were all unarmed. Oliver and Isnora face manslaughter charges, while Cooper faces reckless endangerment. A community activist was thrown out of the courtroom yesterday when he was filmed on camera telling the detective defendants, "Jack Ruby will be back. Bang, bang, bang."

The Post has a gallery of some of the photographs; a few are very graphic - there's one after the jump showing the bloodshed.

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By Jen Chung in News on March 7, 2008 1:18 PM

Comments [rss]

Goomba

This would be all not happening if the cops just used a drop gun. Stupid cops!

jaja007

That bachelor party was an epic fail. They never drank Kaluha, that witness stripper looks middle aged, and then drunken cops swisscheesed the car..

mfib

Given the choice, I would party with howboutdemcowboys before pissyrabbit.

That is all.

Guest

"has anybody here ever handled pot? its green, but leafy? come on."

On a daily basis... It's always leafy, even if it's only shake. Take a leaf in autumn and crumble it up. Same consistency.

pissyrabbit

I have never, I repeat, *never* handled pot.

Nick S

has anybody here ever handled pot? its green, but leafy? come on.

tien

well, pot smoking (like it or not) is a crime. and i'm sure they're trying to portray bell and his friends in a less than favorable light, which is why they talked about the pot.

llama

haha attacked by nerf dart guns. great photo.

longacre

Why were the cops shooting bows and arrows instead of guns?

JGNY

They should hang the car in the Guggenheim, without the blood of course.

Guest

{Rivera also testified a bag of of "green leafy substance" were found.}

What the hell does this have to do with the case? Nothing!

It's either sensationalistic journalism (you didn't have to include this line Gothamisters and Gothamisses) or just another cop trying to deflect the court away from the true crime by focusing on something (pot-smoking) that should not be a crime.