N.Y. Detectives Are Acquitted in Shooting

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Detective Apologizes to Bell Family

One of the three New York Police detectives who was acquitted in the killing of Sean Bell apologized to Bell's family in a news conference with union leaders.

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Bloomberg's actions contrasted with those of his predecessor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, who, just hours before a grand jury handed up indictments for murder in the Diallo case, gave a sharply worded speech to police officers declaring, "We have a right to demand more respect from the citizens of the city for the police officers of the city of New York."

The four officers in that case were found not guilty.

Bell, 23, was killed around 4 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2006, as he and two friends left his bachelor party at a strip club in Queens.

Defense attorneys contended that Bell and his friends had argued with a man outside the club and that undercover officers then followed them to their car, believing they were retrieving a gun.

There was no gun, all parties now agree. But Isnora, who was in plainclothes, pointed his own Glock pistol at Bell's car. Witnesses' accounts varied as to whether Isnora identified himself as a police officer and whether Bell, the driver, rammed the car into him. Isnora, Oliver and Cooper fired their weapons at the car, shooting 11, 31 and four times, respectively. Four shots were fired by two other officers on the scene; one was not charged, and the other was not indicted in the incident.

The number of bullets fired by Isnora, Oliver and Cooper, two of whom are black, raised the question of whether they used excessive force. But the conflicting testimony at the trial created a muddled picture of what happened late at night, in the dark, after some drinking.

In announcing his decision, Cooperman said he was troubled by inconsistencies among witnesses, as well as contradictions in accounts before the grand jury and in trial testimony. "At times the testimony just didn't make sense," he said.

He said he also considered the past criminal convictions of some of the prosecution's witnesses and what he described as a motive to lie to reap monetary rewards.

Bell's fiancee and the two friends injured in the incident -- Trent Benefield, 23, and Joseph Guzman, 31 -- have filed a $50 million civil rights and wrongful-death lawsuit against the city.

After the decision, the officers appeared at a news conference. "I'd like to say sorry to the Bell family for the tragedy," Cooper said.

Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, said: "We are relieved today, and how do I spell relief? N-O-T G-U-I-L-T-Y." He responded indignantly to Sharpton's suggestion that the verdicts were not fair.

"That's despicable for him to say that because we have the greatest criminal justice system on Earth," Palladino said.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said he will delay any departmental investigation of the officers until their legal defense is over.

He said the police department was ready to manage protests: "We don't anticipate violence, but we are prepared for any contingency."

The case was mentioned on the presidential campaign trail. "The judge has made his ruling, and we're a nation of laws, so we respect the verdict that came down," said Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), in response to a question in Indianapolis. "The most important thing for people who are concerned about that shooting is to figure out how do we come together and assure those kinds of tragedies don't happen again."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) issued a statement from her Senate office, saying New Yorkers must "embrace this opportunity to take steps -- in our communities, in our law enforcement agencies, and in our government -- to make sure this does not happen again."