3 NYPD detectives cleared in groom's 50-shot death
NEW YORK (AP) — Three NYPD detectives have been acquitted of all counts in the 50-shot killing of an unarmed groom-to-be on his wedding day.
Michael Oliver, Gescard (ZHEHS'-kahrd) Isnora and Marc Cooper were cleared in the 2006 slaying of Sean Bell. Isnora and Oliver faced the most serious charge of manslaughter.
Shouts of "No!" and "Not guilty!" erupted in the crowd outside the courthouse as word of the verdict spread. Some people wept on each other's shoulders.
Justice Arthur Cooperman delivered the verdict in a Queens courtroom packed with spectators, including the victim's fiance and parents. The ruling brings an end to a nearly two-month trial.
Bell was killed outside a seedy strip club in Queens on Nov. 25, 2006 as he was leaving his bachelor party with two friends.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Three NYPD detectives have been acquitted of all counts in the 50-shot killing of an unarmed groom-to-be on his wedding day.
Michael Oliver and Gescard (ZHEHS'-kahrd) Isnora and Marc Cooper were cleared in the 2006 slaying of Sean Bell.
Justice Arthur Cooperman delivered the verdict in a Queens courtroom packed with spectators, including the victim's fiance and parents. The ruling brings an end to a nearly two-month trial.
The officers complained that pretrial publicity had unfairly painted them as cold-blooded killers, so they opted to have the veteran judge decide the case rather than jurors.
Bell was killed outside a seedy strip club in Queens on Nov. 25, 2006 as he was leaving his bachelor party.
