Results tagged “nicolepaultre”

Under intense scrutiny from the community and media, the trial of three police officers in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man started today. Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora face manslaughter charges while Detective Mark Cooper is charged with reckless endangerment in the 2006 death of Sean Bell, who was killed hours before his wedding when his bachelor party crossed paths with an undercover police operation.

http://gothamist.com/2007/11/24/vigil_marks_one.php

The three undercover police detectives facing trial in the death of Sean Bell waived their right to a jury trial, after unsuccessfully attempting to move the trial out of Queens. Bell was killed early on the morning of his wedding, as he left the Kalua stripclub in Queens with friends. They had been celebrating Bell's impending nuptials while undercover cops were simultaneously conducting an investigation into the illegal gun trade.

Beginning at 10:30PM last night and through 5AM this morning, family, friend and other supporters gathered in Queens to remember Sean Bell, the 25-year-old man who was shot by undercover police the night before his wedding a year ago. Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre-Bell, told the crowd, "I want justice, but no matter what happens, it won't bring Sean back."

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 confusion that ensued (the police thinking the men were armed or were going to the car to retrieve a gun, uncertainty over whether the police identified themselves leading Bell and his friends to think they were being carjacked) five undercover cops fired 50 times at Bell's car. His friends Joseph...

Lawyers for the detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper, the three police officers indicted in the fatal November shooting of Sean Bell, demanded that prosecutors turn over evidence in the case. The NY Times reports their lawyers feel that the prosecutors are withholding evidence:

“It’s like having the fox guarding the chicken coop,” [Karasyk] said.

Continue reading "Detectives in Bell Shooting Want More Evidence"

The first day of grand jury deliberations in the Sean Bell shooting case ended without a verdict, but a new witness may have emerged.

With the grand jury delivering a decision about the Sean Bell shooting case any moment, the city is on alert. The Mayor met with Queens community leaders yesterday. Mayor Bloomberg also called Bell's mother, fiancee Nicole Paultre-Bell, and the Reverend Al Sharpton. The Mayor said:

We are very sensitive to emotions and I don't expect any trouble. People have a right to express themselves. Some people will be happy no matter what, some people will be disappointed.

Continue reading "City Gets Ready for Sean Bell Grand Jury Findings"

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."

Here is part two of our semi-chronological look back at the top stories this past year (here is part one):

Toxicology reports now show that Sean Bell, the unarmed man who was killed in a barrage of police bullets hours before his wedding, had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit. Which gives the groups representing the police some soundbites regarding the events of the night. The Detectives' Endowment Association president Michael Palladino said, "[This report] gives some insight into why Sean Bell acted the way he did behind the wheel. His behavior was reckless and life-threatening to the officer he hit. If the reports are true, his judgment was impaired."

Yesterday, thousands of people walked down Fifth Avenue in to protest a police shooting against three unarmed men. Sean Bell was shot to death just hours before his wedding while his two friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, were wounded in a barrage of 50 bullets in less than a minute; undercover police claimed they saw a fourth man with a gun.

The Reverend Al Sharpton announced the "shopping for justice" protest march he's been talking about since the shooting of Sean Bell, Joseph Guzman, and Trent Benefield by the police.

"Many will be shopping for trinkets and toys. We will be shopping for justice and making a moral appeal to this city and this nation. The fact that we are going on probably the most visible street in the world tomorrow, you don't have to talk to be heard. You just got to show up."

Last night, Larry King spoke to the Reverend Al Sharpton and Nicole Paultre. Paultre is the fiancee of Sean Bell, who was killed in a barrage of police bullets outside a Queens club hours before his wedding, and this marked her first television appearance. She was remarkably calm and poised for most of the interview, though very emotional when describing how she found out that Bell, the father of her two children, was dead. But Paultre appears to be focused on justice:

KING: Why -- this is strange to ask it this way, Nicole, but why don't you appear more angry?

Continue reading "Queens Shooting: Fiancee Says "I'm Really Not Angry"; Survivors Speak to Investigators"

Tonight, Nicole Paultre, the fiancee of Sean Bell who was killed by police fire two weeks ago, will appear on Larry King Live with the Reverend Al Sharpton. Paultre has only spoken publicly once before, during the Egypt & Ashy radio show. CNN is accepting questions from people that are emailed to the show.