In an unusual 1,164 word statement, Judge Arthur Cooperman aquitted the three detectives, Gescard F. Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper of the multiple bullet murder of Sean Bell, saying that the prosecution did not prove its case. From the New York Times:
The top-to-bottom acquittals of Detectives Gescard F. Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper were delivered by Justice Arthur J. Cooperman in an essay form bearing little resemblance to a standard jury verdict, and were met momentarily with silence in court as spectators looked at one another to be sure they had grasped what he was saying.
The detectives, all but obscured behind a human wall of courthouse officers, finally seemed to exhale deeply, even crumple, with relief. Detective Oliver — who reloaded his gun to fire a total of 31 shots and helped catapult the shooting from tragic mistake to a symbol, for many, of police abuse of force and poor training — closed his eyes and cried,
Except for a few scuffles outside the Queens Criminal Court building and shouted displays of disbelief and outrage, the day passed peacefully amid calls for calm delivered by the mayor, the police commissioner and other officials. Still, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a spokesman for the Bell family, called for street protests and said people should get themselves arrested, “whether it is on Wall Street, the judge’s house or at 1 Police Plaza.
I am disgusted that once again the disconnect between the legal system and common sense, morality and even any sense of justice has resulted in a travesty.
Whatever the legal ramifications of the case (and I say this to forestall the inevitable cries of “you weren’t there” and “you don’t know all the facts,”) the sheer overkill (no pun intended) of 50 shots fired should make any normal person conclude that something drastic is wrong. Trained individuals getting off so many shots? In violation of their own standards? Having the time to reload before continuing to shoot? Can anyone believe their side?
Do we condone judicial killings like these because of our over-weening fear of the consequences if we rein in the police…won’t we be less safe, won’t the criminals take over? Should we not ponder over the fact that it’s not criminals that are killed in these incidents, it’s law-abiding citizens who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
What if Diallo and Bell had been white, upper-class and connected? Oh, I forget…they would never be in the position of fearing for their lives from the police.