Experts: Too Soon to Label NYPD Shooting

Rev. Lester Williams holds Sean Bell's marriage license inside the Community Church of Christ in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens, in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006. Williams was to marry Bell and his his fiancee this past Saturday, the day the unarmed Bell was gunned down by undercover agents in a hail of bullets as he left a strip club with friends. Now Williams instead will preside over Bell's funeral services, scheduled for Friday. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) (Kathy Willens - AP)

NEW YORK -- Law enforcement experts contend New York City's mayor spoke prematurely in saying police used "excessive force" in unleashing a 50-shot barrage that killed an unarmed man outside a strip club.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg labeled the shooting "unacceptable" and "inexplicable" while meeting Monday with community leaders and the victim's family.

But experts who have studied the use of deadly force by police say the confusing circumstances of the incident suggest the mayor's conclusions are premature. The amount of firepower, they add, has been given too much emphasis.

"The number of shots fired doesn't mean anything, even though it seems a little shocking," Jim Cohen, a professor of criminal law at Fordham Law School, said Tuesday. "We simply don't have enough information to draw any conclusions."

The five shooters _ four detectives and one police officer _ have been placed on administrative leave during an investigation into the death of 23-year-old Sean Bell.

"We're going to be forced to look at this through their eyes," said Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "Short of hearing what they have to say, we don't know much."

Most of the shooters have remained silent, though lawyers and union officials have said at least some of them are eager to tell their side of the story to a grand jury.

The undercover detective who was the first to open fire has made a statement through his lawyer, according to a report published Wednesday.

Attorney Philip Karasyk told the Daily News that the detective, whose name was withheld, says he identified himself as a police officer and initially held his fire, even after being clipped by Bell's car.

The gunfire on Saturday morning stemmed from an undercover operation inside the club, where a team of officers in plain clothes was investigating alleged prostitution and drug use.

Police said that Bell, who was to be married that day, was involved in an argument outside the club after 4 a.m., and that one of his friends made a reference to a gun.

The detective who was the first to open fire followed Bell and his friends as they headed for their car. As he walked toward the front of the vehicle, they drove forward _ bumping him and then crashing into an undercover police minivan, police said.