Sean Bell Verdict Protest
Protesters rally outside the Queens District Attorney’s office
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)
QUEENS, N.Y. — Angry protesters filled Queens Boulevard after the verdict in the Sean Bell shooting was handed down. A rally called by a civil rights coalition was held outside the district attorney’s office - and was followed by an unpermitted march through Jamaica, Queens as protesters spilled into the streets.
In response to what the Peoples Justice Coalition described as “a bold affront to the human rights of Sean Bell and all of us” - a not guilty verdict for three NYPD detectives charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the killing of unarmed Sean Bell - protesters gathered outside the Queens District Attorney’s office on Friday. Several families who have lost members to police gunfire spoke and then demonstrators marched down Queens Boulevard. Chants of “NYPD go to hell, we are all Sean Bell” expressed the protesters’ frustration with the police department and a legal system rally organizers described as unjust. The march ended near the site of the police shooting of Sean Bell, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman.
A protester marches down Queens Boulevard
(Photo: Thomas Good / NLN)
Although Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman acquitted the three NYPD detectives charged in the 2006 shooting - the officers still face a Department of Justice investigation to determine if they violated the civil rights of the shooting victims. Attorney Sanford Rubenstein has also filed a civil suit against the detectives and the NYPD, on behalf of Bell’s fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell.
Outraged with the verdict, Reverend Al Sharpton said more protests are planned and will involve acts of civil disobedience.
View Photos/Videos From The Protest…
Original post by Thomas Good and reposted by Radical Blogs
