A Queens man who survived the infamous Sean Bell shooting is in trouble with the law again. Police sources tell the Post that Trent Benefield was "brazenly" smoking a marijuana-stuffed cigar, or "blunt," on a street in Jamaica yesterday afternoon when cops spotted him. But Benefield thought fast and swallowed the remaining contraband. Unfortunately, he then proceeded to stop thinking, reportedly telling the officers, "You have nothing on me, I ate it!" more ›

Nicole Paultre Bell will be outside the Municipal Building this morning, picking up endorsements from a number of unions and elected officials. The 26-year-old, whose fiance Sean Bell was killed in a fusillade of police gunfire hours before their wedding in 2006, is running for a City Council seat in Queens that was left vacant when Councilman Thomas White died in August. She told the NY Times last week, “In a million years, I never would have imagined this would have happened to my family. But I’m a strong woman trying to persevere — this was my calling." more ›

After some speculation, Nicole Paultre Bell will run for Thomas White's City Council seat. She confirmed her decision to the Daily News and said of her fiancé Sean Bell's death during a fusillade of 51 police bullets hours before their wedding, "What happened to me four years ago - I didn't expect that to happen. This is what life threw my way. It made me realize that there are serious problems out there." more ›

Yesterday brought speculation that the fiancee of the Queens man shot and killed by police before his wedding might run for the City Council seat left vacant with Councilman Thomas White's death. At White's funeral, Nicole Paultre Bell told the Daily News, "One thing that Tom White did tell me sitting in his office is the only way you can make change is getting involved, so I'll keep that in mind." more ›

As a funeral will be held for Queens City Councilman Thomas White today, there are rumors about someone who may run for his seat: Nicole Paultre Bell, fiancee of Sean Bell, the man who was killed when police opened fire on him and his friends hours before his wedding. Politico's Maggie Haberman reported yesterday that she was being asked by community members to run. According to the Daily News (which also notes that she's become politically active and is often at the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network meetings), "Her lawyer refused to comment on the report, but coyly mentioned that she would pay her respects to White at his funeral today." more ›

A lawyer said that the city's $3.25 million payment to settle the wrongful death lawsuit of Sean Bell, who was killed in a hail of 50 bullets hours before his wedding, was the largest payout for a police shooting. According to Newsday, "The Bell settlement in the Brooklyn federal court case topped recoveries by Amadou Diallo ($3 million), Ousmane Zongo ($3 million) and Patrick Dorismond ($2 million), three other men who died in notorious police shooting cases in the city." more ›

The city reached a settlement with the family of Sean Bell, who was fatally shot by the police on the eve of his wedding in November 2006. His family will receive $3.25 million; his friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, who also injured from the 50 shots fired by undercover police, will receive $3 million and $900,000 respectively. The NYC Law Department Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo said, "The Sean Bell shooting highlighted the complexities our dedicated officers must face each day. The City regrets the loss of life in this tragic case, and we share our deepest condolences with the Bell family." more ›

A police officer involved in the 2006 shooting of Sean Bell, the Queens man who was killed in a barrage of police bullets hours before his wedding, is now suing Bell's estate. The Post reports, "Police Officer Michael Carey's lawsuit says Bell was boozed-up when he got behind the wheel of the car after his bachelor party on Nov. 25, 2006, and also claims the doomed groom failed to wear glasses or contact lenses despite having poor eyesight." more ›

Cops are furious over a new bill that would require them to shoot suspects in the arm or leg rather than shooting to kill—even in life-or-death shootouts. The newly introduced "minimum force" bill would edit the justification clause, requiring cops to shoot "with the intent to stop, rather than kill" instead of giving the officer the right to kill if they feel their life is in danger. Michael Paladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, called the bill unrealistic, and told the Post, "This legislation would require officers to literally shoot the gun out of someone's hand or shoot to wound them in the leg or arm. I don't know of any criminal who doesn't shoot to kill. They are not bound by any restrictions." more ›

A day after federal investigators announced that there is "insufficient evidence" to pursue a civil rights case against the officers who shot and killed Sean Bell, relatives of the 23-year-old said they are after the officers' badges. "Myself and my family are going to do everything possible to see that these police officers are fired," said Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre-Bell. "There is a history of black men being killed by police officers, and something needs to be done ... We're hoping to eventually meet with President Obama, and that he'll do something, because this is a national problem." more ›

Rev. Al Sharpton said today that federal prosecutors will not pursue a civil rights case against the police officers who shot and killed Sean Bell in a barrage of 50 bullets outside a strip club on the day of his wedding. According to 1010WINS, after reviewing the shooting, federal attorneys decided against pressing charges. Though the police officers involved in the incident were acquitted of manslaughter charges in 2008, friends and family of Bell—who recently had a street renamed in his honor—urged authorities to take the cops to court for violating the 23-year-old's civil rights. But Sharpton said Bell's family has been informed that there will be no federal case. more ›

Three years before voting to rename a street in of honor an unarmed 23-year-old who was killed in a barrage of police bullets, a Queens Community Board rejected an application to rename a street in honor of a police officer killed in the line of duty. So following the board's controversial vote in favor of "Sean Bell Way," the family of deceased officer John Scarangella has again applied for a street renaming to memorialize the slain cop. But the chairwoman of Community Board 12, Adjoa Gzifa, opposes the renaming. "For every police officer that puts on a uniform and carries a gun, if they should perish in the line of duty, does that mean we have to rename a street for them?" more ›

It's official. Mayor Bloomberg has signed into effect a controversial street renaming that will honor an unarmed man who was gunned down by police in a barrage of 50 bullets on the day of his wedding. more ›

While the naming of three blocks in Queens after police shooting victim Sean Bell is scheduled to take place next month, apparently that's not soon enough for some community activists. The City Council approved the street naming earlier this week, but, according to the Post, Rev. Omar Wilks said, "We are here to say that as a community who loved Sean Bell, who struggled, who protested ... for Sean Bell, we're not going to wait for the mayor to sign off on his approval. The community, we are going to take charge and the community's going to put a street name up for Sean Bell." Mayor Bloomberg has said he will sign "Sean Bell Way" into effect; the Post adds that a mayoral spokesman "said it is illegal to rename a street without city approval." more ›

Opponents of the proposal to rename a three-block stretch of Liverpool Street after Sean Bell — a 23-year-old who was killed by police in a barrage of bullets on his wedding day — continued to lash out against the plan even after City Council voted overwhelmingly to approve it yesterday. "A City Council that places a man who nearly ran over police officers in the same category as heroes who risk their lives for us all every day needs to no longer have the authority to do street renamings," said Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-Staten Island), who according to the Post voted early in the meeting and left in protest. more ›

City Council overwhelmingly approved a plan to rename the street where police shot and killed Sean Bell, voting 41-7 (with two abstentions) in favor of the proposal, according to a Council insider. The decision clears the way for converting a three-block-long Queens strip into "Sean Bell Way" to honor the 23-year-old who died in a salvo of police bullets on the day of his wedding. more ›

Following the NYPD shooting of Sean Bell in November 2006, the NYCLU filed a Freedom of Information request with the NYPD, asking for the NYPD’s annual statistical reports on police shootings from 1996 through 2006, as well as data about the race of civilians shot at by police. In response, the NYPD released some annual statistical reports, but it denied the NYCLU’s request for full racial data. A lawsuit ensued, and now a judge has ruled that the NYPD can't withhold the data, which will show the racial breakdown of people shot at but not struck by cops. more ›

With the City Council set to decide whether or not a Queens street should be renamed after Sean Bell, the Reverend Al Sharpton spoke out in favor of the renaming. In 2006, Bell was killed and two of his friends were injured when undercover police fired upon their car, thinking they were armed (they weren't). Yesterday, Sharpton, who was joined by City Councilman and City Comptroller-elect John Liu, said, "This has something to do with our community embracing and using as example a young man that was on his way to doing what was right and his community rallied around him. That's what streets are named for." more ›

Last spring, Queens Community Board 12 voted to re-name a street after Sean Bell, the 23-year-old groom who was killed in a hail of bullets three years ago by police, and yesterday it was approved by a City Council committee as part of 70 new street names. The City Council is set to vote on the proposal on Monday and it's sparking some controversy among representatives and officials who oppose the implications of the naming. more ›

A judge found Councilman Charles Barron guilty of disorderly conduct for sitting in the middle of Tillary Street to protest the Sean Bell verdict. Unsurprisingly, the East New York Councilman — a one-time candidate for Brooklyn Borough President who is considering running for Council Speaker against Christine Quinn — had a message for the man responsible for his prosecution. "[Brooklyn District Attorney] Charles Hynes should be ashamed of himself," said Barron, who was sentenced to time-served, which was about six hours according to the Post. "He should not be allowed to come into any black church this Jan. 21 and celebrate Martin Luther King Day." more ›

A Queens community voted to name a block after the man who was killed there in a hail of police gunfire. NY1 reports that "Liverpool Street between 94th and 95th Avenue [will be] 'Sean Bell Way.'" Sean Bell had been celebrating the night before his wedding at a strip club-lounge when he and his friends were caught in a confusing confrontation with police—undercover cops thought Bell and his friends had a gun (they were unarmed) while Bell and his friends thought the cops were trying to carjack them—that left Bell dead and his friends injured. (The cops were later found not guilty.) Bell's family was happy with the decision; his mother told NY1, "It was one good stepping stone, because my son's name will be seen out there on the street," while his fiancee Nicole Paultre Bell said, "I just want people to realize the person who Sean was, and he was a great man. And this tonight proves that there are people who do understand. And do realize that he was a great man, a great role model." more ›

On November 25, 2006, groom-to-be Sean Bell and his friends were leaving the Kalua nightclub in Queens when undercover police confronted them. In the ensuing confusion (the police thought the men were armed or were retrieving a gun, uncertainty over whether the police identified themselves and whether Bell and his friends thought they were being carjacked) five undercover cops fired 50 times at Bell's car. His friends were wounded and Bell, who was to be married the next day, was killed. Earlier this morning, his family, friends, and supporters held a vigil marking the second anniversary of his death. While three police officers were found not guilty in April, Bell's family has met with federal authorities, who may pursue a civil rights case. The Reverend Al Sharpton said, "They've assured them they were doing a full investigation. We don't know what the outcome will be but ... the family is still demanding justice in this matter." more ›

A judge found the Reverend Al Sharpton and seven other protesters guilty of disorderly conduct. Sharpton had organized a number of civil disobedience events around the city to protest the acquittals of three police officers whose gun fire killed unarmed Sean Bell in November 2006. Sharpton had promised to shut down the city with the protests, which was situated at bridge and tunnel crossings and over 200 people were arrested, though most of the cases were ultimately dismissed. WNBC reports that Sharpton and the other defendants were sentenced to time already served (Sharpton had served 5 1/2 hours in jail). more ›

Today, the Reverend Al Sharpton and others who demonstrated in a number of civil disobedience events around the city back in May went to court for the start of a non-jury trial. They were protesting the acquittals of three police detectives who fired 50 shots at unarmed Sean Bell and killed him in 2006, and Sharpton, who had promised to shut the city down by organizing the protests at bridges and tunnels, was arrested on May 7. Sharpton, who rejected an offer to plead guilty for time served (he was held for 5 1/2 hours), said, "We wanted to stop violence, not cause violence." more ›

The Jamaica, Queens nightclub that Sean Bell went to before being fatally killed by police gunfire had finally been closed, if only temporarily. Authorities, from the police department (performing stings) and State Liquor Authority (which stripped it of its license), and the community tried to shut it down but it was done in by mice that the Health Department found. The Post reports a sign simply says the club is under renovations. more ›

The RAND Corporation issued the findings of a report that commissioned by the NYPD in the wake of the Sean Bell shooting. Among the recommendations were that the NYPD should incorporate more realistic scenarios into its firearm training and increase the number of non-lethal weapons carried by personnel on the street. more ›

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Al Sharpton: Politician. Gadfly. Cyclist? more ›

Though acquitted of criminal charges in a bench trial last month, the three detectives involved in the fatal 2006 shooting of Sean Bell will face police department disciplinary charges. Four other officers involved with the shooting, supervising the undercover operation and working on the crime scene were also charged. more ›

Two hundred sixteen people were arrested during pray-ins protesting the acquittals of three police detectives in the shooting of Sean Bell. The NY Times called the demonstrations "carefully orchestrated," as hundreds of (perhaps a thousand) people gathered at six different locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, blocking traffic and attracting arrest. more ›