Photograph of protesters outside the Sean Bell shooting trial in Queens by Gary He/AP; the protesters are holding signs counting down the 50 shots fired 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,......

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

Above, from left, Detectives Marc Cooper, Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora; below, photograph of Bell, Paultre-Bell and one of their daughters 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......

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." The Reverend Al Sharpton, who also attended the overnight vigil, said, "This time a year ago,......

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. Late in April, prosecutors handed over 2,100 pages of evidence in Mr. Bell’s shooting, as well as videotapes and......

With three police detectives indicted and lawyers getting ready for a trial in the Sean Bell shooting, here are some related stories: Detective Marc Cooper, who was indicted on two counts of reckless endangerment, may ask for a separate trial. Cooper fired four shots, many fewer than the 31 and 11 from Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora, respectively. His lawyer tells the Daily News, "Severing the case is something we will consider." A lawyer......

The first day of grand jury deliberations in the Sean Bell shooting case ended without a verdict, but a new witness may have emerged. A janitor who went to a Queens police station house yesterday claims to have seen police shooting of three unarmed black men - and says he saw a "fourth man. The NYPD had always claimed there was a fourth person with a gun that made Bell and his friends "targets"......

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......

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......

Here is part two of our semi-chronological look back at the top stories this past year (here is part one): Queens Blackout The Blackout of 2003, as irritating as it was, happened to the whole city, could be blamed on other states and didn't last too long. When parts of Queens lost power in July, Con Ed wrote it off as an isolated event affecting only a few thousands customers. But as Queens spent days......

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......

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 march was organized by the Reverend Al Sharpton, with the theme......

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......

The fiancee of Sean Bell officially changed her surname to "Bell". Nicole Paultre was supposed to marry Bell on November 25, but Bell was killed when police opened fire on him and two friends after his bachelor party. Paultre revealed that a civil court judge signed an order for Paultre to change her name to Nicole Paultre Bell in an exclusive interview with Essence.com. ESSENCE: How does it feel to suddenly become the face......

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......

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. Questions continue to be raised about the investigation. The police identified Jean Nelson as the "fourth man" seen near Bell's car;......