Sean Bell Trial (New York, York: live, law, dangerous)

[Rudbeckia]

NYPD officers not guilty, all charges. Didn't expect that.

[NooYowkur81]

I expected a guilty on at least one of the minor charges. But doesn't really surprise me considering how poorly the prosecution ran their case.

[newtoli]

Once you start putting cops in jail for firing when they believe their lives are in danger, you set a dangerous precedent. They tried to run these cops down with a car, and allegedly said they were going for a gun.

What I don't get is:

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have been monitoring the trial. In the event of an acquittal, it is likely authorities would conduct a review to determine whether there were any civil rights violations. All three victims were African-American. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

All 3 victims were black, but out of the 3 cops weren't 2 black and 1 hispanic?

[NooYowkur81]

Originally Posted by newtoli

Once you start putting cops in jail for firing when they believe their lives are in danger, you set a dangerous precedent. They tried to run these cops down with a car, and allegedly said they were going for a gun.

What I don't get is:


All 3 victims were black, but out of the 3 cops weren't 2 black and 1 hispanic?

One is Lebanese, one is Black, and the other I believe is Black and Hispanic.

[Rudbeckia]

[quote=newtoli;3570406]Once you start putting cops in jail for firing when they believe their lives are in danger, you set a dangerous precedent. They tried to run these cops down with a car, and allegedly said they were going for a gun.

[quote]


I agree. This might be a dumb question, but why was the trail decided by a judge and not a jury?

[Irish Eyes]

The prosecution didn't have much to work with.

[Irish Eyes]

I believe the defendants choose judge or jury trial.

[BK2Westchester]

[quote=Rudbeckia;3570436][quote=newtoli;3570406]Once you start putting cops in jail for firing when they believe their lives are in danger, you set a dangerous precedent. They tried to run these cops down with a car, and allegedly said they were going for a gun.

I agree. This might be a dumb question, but why was the trail decided by a judge and not a jury?

they waived their right to a jury trial.

Its ridiculas to say they tried to "run down the cops" with their car as a justification for the 50 shots. witnesses say the undercover cops did not immediately identify themselves.

If i were in a car in the middle of the night and some dude ran up on my with guns drawn and i didnt know they were cops I would run their asses over!

now whether the witnesses were credible or not, is the question. From what i hear, they were not.

as racists as this sounds, if those undercover detectives were WHITE and approached bell in that same manner, bell would have PROBABLY thought they were cops and immediately stopped.

[drkman]

Originally Posted by Rudbeckia

I agree. This might be a dumb question, but why was the trail decided by a judge and not a jury?

Because the defendents decided they did not want a jury trail. I guess they felt that a judge would be better with a stricter interpretation of the law then a jury of peers who might be shaded by emotions.

I don't think people were down on the police because of the shooting per se but because of the amount of shots that took place and the way things happened. Everyone knows the police have to do their job and also protect themselves but there is such a thing as overkill and 50 shots in a situation like that is overkill especially when none of the guys were armed. Also, the cops were undercover so in the moment there is a strong possibility that it was not known that they were police when the incident took place. If they identified themselves, as they say, it does not mean that Sean Bell and the other guys heard or realized that they were police.

As far as civil rights violations are concerned, it does not make a difference that 2 of the police were Black. Civil rights are civil rights and they can be violated by anyone regardless of race.

This was a very tragic incident and I hope that things have been learned from this.

[NooYowkur81]

[quote=BK2Westchester;3570543][quote=Rudbeckia;3570436]

Originally Posted by newtoli

Once you start putting cops in jail for firing when they believe their lives are in danger, you set a dangerous precedent. They tried to run these cops down with a car, and allegedly said they were going for a gun.



they waived their right to a jury trial.

Its ridiculas to say they tried to "run down the cops" with their car as a justification for the 50 shots. witnesses say the undercover cops did not immediately identify themselves.

If i were in a car in the middle of the night and some dude ran up on my with guns drawn and i didnt know they were cops I would run their asses over!

now whether the witnesses were credible or not, is the question. From what i hear, they were not.

as racists as this sounds, if those undercover detectives were WHITE and approached bell in that same manner, bell would have PROBABLY thought they were cops and immediately stopped.

Well the Lebanese guy would be considered White by most people. He looks Greek or Italian.