NY Detectives Acquitted in Groom Killing Case

The three New York detectives who stood trial for shooting and killing an unarmed man in hail of bullets on the day he was to be married were acquitted on all charges Friday morning.

Two of the officers, Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora, were facing manslaughter charges while Marc Cooper was charged with reckless endangerment. The charges related to the events that unfolded outside a strip club in Queens on Nov. 25, 2006.

Sean Bell, 23, and two friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, had spent Bell’s final night before getting married at the club. Also at the club were undercover officers who had been investigating claims of a prostitution ring. When the club shut down at 4:00 a.m. the events that followed resulted in Bell’s death and both friends being shot numerous times.

According to Isnora and Hispolito “Hip” Sanchez, Bell and his friends were seen engaging in an argument with another man. At one point during that argument both officers claimed they heard Guzman tell Bell and Benfield to go get his gun, something Guzman has denied saying.

Isnora said he decided to arm himself, call for backup and tail the three men outside. All three men got into Bell’s car at which time Isnora told them to stop. Isnora said Bell then bumped him and then slammed into an unmarked police van that had just arrived.

Isnora then said he believed he saw Guzman reach for a weapon and shouted “gun” at which time he unloaded his weapon, as did Michael Oliver, the officer driving the police van. Oliver fired 31 shots into the car while Isnora squeezed off 11 rounds, Marc Cooper shot four times.

When the chaos ended police found that there had been no gun inside the car yet Justice Arthur Cooperman felt the officers acted within reasonable means.

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