April 2, 2008
Sean Bell's Friend Testifies: "I Thought I Was Dead"
Joseph Guzman dramatically described the night he was hit 16 times, with 19 wounds all over his body, and his friend Sean Bell was killed
in a hail of police gunfire. In recalling the man holding a gun, who turned out to be an undercover detective, stood near Bell's car, "He shot me. I’m looking in his eyes, man. He shot me. Everything slowed down. But I’m looking at him shooting me. He’s continuing to shoot.”
Guzman said he never heard the police identify themselves and that he told Bell to escape from who they thought were armed thugs. Also, as they lay wounded, he told Bell he loved him and Bell whispered back, "I love you, too" and then stopped moving. Defense lawyers were skeptical, calling it a "movie script," (the Times reports a medical examiner said Bell's larynx was destroyed in the shooting). And Guzman's other exchanges with defense lawyers were testy. From WCBS 2:
For example, Det. Oliver's lawyer, James Culleton, asked if Guzman tried to escape.Culleton: "And you're telling us you're trying to (crawl past Sean Bell to the door?)"
Guzman: "I'm still tryin' to get out of the car 'cause this dude (and he pointed at Det. Oliver) is still shootin'! Like he's crazy! Out of his mind! Like he's shootin' at a TANK or somethin'!"
Isnora's lawyer, Anthony Ricco, then questioned Guzman's intentions.At one point, he said to Ricco, "You know what needs to happen? This needs to happen to your family.” When prosecutors asked Judge Arthur Cooperman, who will decide the three detectives' fate, to make Ricco stop badgering Guzman, Guzman said, "I ain't nervous of this dude right here."Ricco: "Didn't you tell that man outside the club, ' Let's go get my gun!' "
Guzman: "Where you from, man?"
Ricco: "Why?"
Guzman: "You're supposed to be a black man. Where you from?"
Ricco: "I'm from a 'hood, like you."
Guzman: "Well where I'm from, that's not a good bluff."
Guzman survived, but has permanent injuries, a dropped foot, nerve damage, and a metal rod in one leg. He still has four bullets in him. He admitted on the stand that he accepted money from the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network and referred to his past criminal history as "bad choices."
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This is the sfatcheem that lied about the color of the gun? That cane he is using is as much of a lie as his testimony. Stupid mulignan forgot about the mulignan version of omerta stop snitching.
"Later, lawyer Paul Martin, who represents Cooper, argued that Bell could have never spoken those words because the medical examiner testified last month that one of the bullets severed the 23-year-old's vocal cords."
That may be the case, but not all speech is generated by the vocal cords. Whispering is unvoiced by definition.
what on earth are you talking about, goomba?
what we need is 100 people saying "yo go get my gun" every hour, every day, in very public places, every day durng the trial,
YO GO GET MY GUN!
now what, will cops start shooting everybody.
thats the defense, YO GO GET MY GUN means you have a gun and a pig's life is in danger!
I DONT THINK SO! now go get my gun!
I like the idea that when there's no jury present the dialog in court can get a lot looser.
"Also, as they lay wounded, he told Bell he loved him and Bell whispered back, "I wish I could quit you."
Did the stenographer edit out all the "nah mean?" and "nah sayin?" in the transcript?
In the real world, people who have criminal convictions, two felonies...not one but TWO...for selling crack and weapons, arent exactly what most people would call 'credible'.
The whole situation is sad. It appears to me to be an accident. Based on Guzman's testimony it seems that they thought the cops were just regular guys hence the 'this isnt a robbery they are trying to kill us'. And the cops, they thought the guys in the car had a gun. Both were mistaken. The guys were police, and the guys in the car had no gun. Both parties were incorrect. The result is the shooting, the cops not wanting to be shot, and the guys not wanting to be shot.
Four words:
THROWN UNDER THE BUS
the witnesses past crimes cannot be entered into court unless directly relating to the crime in question.
I find it amazing how racist "you people" are.
What's a "mulignan"? I'm pretty sure its a derogatory term for some socioeconomic/ethnic group. Where did it come from?
mulignan = eggplant
(think of the color)
You might remember the terms mulignan and eggplant from such classics as "The Sopranos" and "True Romance," respectively.
"You're a cantaloupe."
Now seeing Mr Guzman I understand how he managed to be the target of 30+ shots and survive - that is a lot of body to hit. Poor guy. I wish this accident never happened.
On a side note, how is it even possible for him to be a witness? He was directly involved in the incident, and now he has a lot of money riding on this I am sure. Of course he is not gonna say "the cops IDed themselves before shooting but we were too cool to comply and just acted rowdy".
In fact this guy (with his "go get my gun") should be held directly responsible for the outcome of his drunken brave tough guy behavior.
Clearly a pillar of the community.
"the witnesses past crimes cannot be entered into court unless directly relating to the crime in question"
Not entirely true.
Wow, Zodak. You read my mind.
ihateallbrokers, you aren't too smart are you?
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Apparently they were shooting at a tank.
You get in trouble with the law the first time it's a bad choice. Get in trouble again with the law the second time you're being a career criminal and that was what Sean Bell and his friends were.