3 party-goers shot by cops in Queens, NYC

[Lou629]

I for one would like to see the full story

Ben,
based on years of observations on reactions to past situations like this in this area, the local politicians and nypd would have been screaming their side of events from the rooftops, and putting it on billboards along the FDR and Long Island Expressway by now, if they had a good solid case. Something tells me that you are very likely to hear about this, even out there in Utah, for some time to come. The truth may never come out, but this story sounds like one of those that isn't going to go away for quite a while yet, certainly not locally, maybe not nationally either.

 

[Ryder]

A few reports from now we will know more about the "criminal history" of these guys than they themselves. As though nobody really needs to know what really happened. Let the demonization commence.

 

[pcosmar]

What is known, Three UNARMED men were shot. several times.
The appartment across the street was shot.
No weapons were found on the victims. NO charges, but the victims are handcuffed to their hospital beds.
Oops!!

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

i never

hit the same vehicle twice unless i was drunk

 

[Baba Louie]

Driving while under the influence can cause death and destruction.
Cars can be deadly weapons.
I feared for my life.

Case closed.

 

[ilbob]

What is known, Three UNARMED men were shot. several times.
The appartment across the street was shot.
No weapons were found on the victims. NO charges, but the victims are handcuffed to their hospital beds.
Oops!!

I expect a thread lock any time now. If NYPD hasn't released a plausible excuse for these shootings after this much time, you almost have to come to the conclusion that they have been unable to concoct one even remotely believable.

 

[Joe7cri]

A report on CW11 news just now, No charges filed against victims, 7 cops in area due to surveillance of strip club and brief altercation in front of strip club. Victims left club in car, Police thought they had a gun so 1 officer followed on foot, car struck undercover van and then the officer which was following on foot. All 7 officers converged, 5 fired 50 shots, 31 of which was fired by one officer.

Again this is a quick summary of CW11, but the only real facts so far is that all shots fired were by police which was a quote by Commissioner Ray Kelly, and although the surviving victims were originally shackled no charges are being filed against victims.

I wonder if their car really struck the officer on foot or if this is their excuse for using lethal force? Let's see what other facts come out.

 

[pcosmar]

"Folks, a car is an EXTREMELY deadly weapon when wielded as such."

Yes, and the pasengers could have grabed the steering wheel.

 

[Crab Man]

N.Y. Police Kill Groom Near Strip Club
N.Y. Police Fire 50 Rounds at Car of Unarmed Men Near Strip Club, Killing Groom on Wedding Day

By ADAM GOLDMAN


NEW YORK Nov 25, 2006 (AP)— Police fired 50 rounds Saturday at a car of unarmed men leaving a bachelor party at a strip club, killing the groom on his wedding day in a shooting that drew a furious outcry from family members and community leaders.

The spray of bullets hit the car 21 times, after the vehicle rammed into an undercover officer and then an unmarked NYPD minivan twice, police said. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly would not say if the collisions were what prompted police to open fire.

It was too early to say whether the shooting was justified, Kelly said.

Police thought one of the men in the car might have had a gun. But police found no weapons.

"Although it is too early to draw conclusions about this morning's shootings … we know that the NYPD officers on the scene had reason to believe that an altercation involving a firearm was about to happen and were trying to stop it," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.

Kelly said the incident stemmed from an undercover operation inside the strip club. Seven officers in plain clothes were investigating the Kalua Cabaret, and five were involved in the shooting. The gunfire also hit nearby homes and a train station, though no residents were injured.

A veteran officer fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said. All the officers carried 9 mm handguns.

The groom, who was driving, was identified as Sean Bell, 23. Joseph Guzman, 31, was in the front seat and was shot at least 11 times. Trent Benefield, 23, who was in the back seat, was hit three times. Both men were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. Guzman was listed in critical condition and Benefield was in stable condition.

Kelly said there may have been a fourth person in the car who fled the scene.

Three officers, including the officer hit by the car, were treated and released. Another detective remained hospitalized for blood pressure, Kelly said.

Abraham Kamara, 38, who lives a few blocks from the club, said he was getting ready for work at about 4 a.m. when he heard bursts of gunfire.

"First it was like four shots," he said. "And then it was like pop-pop-pop like 12 times."

A grand jury was investigating the incident. Kelly said none of the five veteran officers had ever discharged their weapons in the line of duty. He has not been able to interview the officers because the district attorney must first complete an investigation, he said.

The undercover officers were inside the club to document illicit activity, Kelly said. With one more violation the club would be shut down, Kelly said.

He said the establishment has a "chronic history of narcotics, prostitution and weapons complaints."

The shooting drew angry protests from family members and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Sharpton went to the hospitals where the men were taken and afterward held news conferences. At Jamaica Hospital, the civil rights advocate stood with about two dozen members of Bell's and his fiancee's family.

"I will stand with this family," he said. "This stinks. Something about the story being told did not seem right."

Sharpton said Bell and his fiancee had two children, ages 3 years and 5 months.

At Mary Immaculate Hospital, Sharpton said he was outraged to find the survivors handcuffed to their hospital beds. He said Guzman suffered 17 wounds, though it was unclear how many were bullet wounds, and Benefield was shot three times.

"We're not anti-police … we're anti-police brutality," he said.

Robert Porter, who identified himself as Bell's first cousin, said he was supposed to be a DJ at the wedding. He said about 250 people were invited and were flying in from all over the country. He said his cousin wasn't the type to confront police and that he was "on the straight and narrow."

"I still don't want to believe it," Porter said, "a beautiful day like this, and he was going to have a beautiful wedding, he was going to live forever with his wife and children. And this happened."

In 1999, police killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who was shot 19 times in the Bronx. The four officers in that case were acquitted of criminal charges.

And in 2003, Ousmane Zongo, 43, a native of the western African country of Burkina Faso who repaired art and musical instruments in a Manhattan warehouse, was shot to death during a police raid. Zongo was hit four times, twice in the back.

Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Tom Hays and Cristian Salazar contributed to this report.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Link

 

[Justin]

How many thousands of times are we going to rehash the same discussion?