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 for Bell's fiance Nicole Paultre-Bell even said, "Who would want to be sitting next to Oliver? That's a no-brainer."
- Lawyers who represented police officers involved in the 1999 police shooting of Amadou Diallo said that it's unlikely the venue for the trial would be changed. Additionally, change-of-venue motions are apparently only available after attempting to pick a jury; the Post says that the Bronx, where the Diallo shooting occurred, allows change-of-venue motions at any time.
- Back in November, the mayor said the shooting was "unacceptable" and "deeply disturbing" -- and he still thinks thinks the shooting is "inexplicable." The Detectives' Endowment Association president Michael Palladino tells the Sun Bloomberg's words "certainly go a long way in poisoning a jury pool."
- And many want the mayor to crack down on aggressive police tactics. City Councilman Leroy Comrie tells the Times, "[Bloomberg is] doing the outreach, he’s doing the healing, but it’s after the fact. He’s patching the wound, but he’s not doing the deep surgery required to keep the wound from reappearing."
Photograph of a Sean Bell supporter outside the Queens Criminal Court building by Shahrzad Elghanayan/AP
