Posted: 8:28 PM - Apr 14, 2008
By RICHARD STEIER
Closing arguments in the trial of three Detectives accused in the 2006 killing of Sean Bell outside a Queens nightclub were delivered April 14
by their lawyers and the Queens District Attorney's Office.
Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Cooperman, who heard the case without a jury at the Detectives'
request, has said that he will render a verdict April 25.
ID, Justification Keys
His decision is expected to hinge on two key elements: whether any of the Detectives identified themselves as police officers before
they began shooting at Mr. Bell and his two passengers, and whether the shooting was prompted by a legitimate concern that their lives might be in
danger.
No guns were found in the car driven by Mr. Bell or on his person or that of his companions, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman. One
of the Detectives on trial, Gescard Isnora, testified before a grand jury last year that he had heard a threat by Mr. Guzman to get a gun in response to a
dispute that Mr. Bell and other members of his bachelor party were having with a man outside the club, Fabio Coicou. Several of Mr. Bell's friends,
including Mr. Guzman and Mr. Benefield, stated that Mr. Coicou acted as though he had a gun in his coat pocket, and one of them said he had threatened to use
it.
Mr. Coicou denied having been armed at the time. But although he also testified during the trial that
he never heard an alleged threat by Mr. Guzman to "get my gat," Justice Cooperman will consider his previous statement to the Queens DA's Office
that such a threat was made.
Why Cops Didn't Testify
Neither Detective Gescard nor his two accused colleagues, Dets. Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper, testified in the case. Detectives
Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino said defense lawyers believed that their success in challenging the credibility of Mr. Benefield and Mr.
Guzman on the witness stand, combined with the fact that the prosecution read the Detectives' grand-jury testimony in court, eliminated the need for them
to testify in their own behalf. It also spared them the risk of being tripped up on cross-examination, as both the key witnesses against them
were.
Mr. Gescard and Mr. Oliver are both charged with manslaughter and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Mr. Cooper is
accused of reckless endangerment and faces no more than a year behind bars.
The fatal shooting took place near the Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica early on the morning of Nov. 25, 2006. The cops were seeking to
uncover evidence of illegal activity at the club that, coupled with its previous violations, would be enough to shut it down. (Kalua earlier this month lost
its liquor license because of past improprieties but is continuing to operate.)
Bell Was Inebriated
Mr. Bell, who was to be married later that day, was celebrating with his friends. Prior to the fatal confrontation, he drank heavily:
his blood-alcohol level when he was tested after the shooting was nearly twice the standard for being legally drunk in New York.
Detective Isnora was in plainclothes in the club trying to fit in with the other patrons. At one point he saw a gesture by a man
inside the club that he believed signaled that he was carrying a gun. He walked outside intending to alert his backups, but then, after overhearing the
argument between Mr. Coicou and Mr. Bell's group, he followed Mr. Bell back to his car.
He testified before the grand jury that when he approached the car and identified himself, Mr. Bell responded by driving forward and
striking him, then hitting a green minivan being driven by members of his back-up team. Detective Isnora said that he saw Mr. Guzman make a motion that he
believed might be a reach for a gun, and that perception, along with Mr. Bell's gunning the car straight at him a second time, prompted him to begin
shooting. He fired 11 bullets; Detective Oliver shot 31 times, at one point reloading his gun, and Detective Cooper fired four times. Two other officers,
neither of whom was criminally charged, fired the other four shots in the 50-bullet fusillade.
Says ID Was Shouted
One of those cops, Police Officer Michael Carey, was a key defense witness, stating that he clearly heard Detective Isnora tell the
men in Mr. Bell's car, "Police! Show your hands!" before the shooting started.
Another defense witness, a crime-scene expert, testified that it had taken him less than 13 seconds to fire 31 shots with a gun
similar to Detective Oliver's, a point the cops' lawyers hoped would illustrate that there had been little time to reflect while he believed he or his
fellow officers were in mortal danger. It was testified that the glass in Mr. Bell's Nissan Altima would have exploded from the gunfire in such a way that
cops could have had the mistaken impression that those in the car were shooting at them.
Defense lawyers during their cross-examinations of Mr. Benefield and Mr. Guzman sought to establish the possibility that changes in
their testimony on the witness stand from what they said earlier were designed to improve the chances of their winning a $50-million civil suit that they and
Mr. Bell's family have brought against the city.
By peppering Mr. Guzman with harsh, provocative questions, the defense lawyers also sought to undermine his claim that, rather than
making a gun threat in response to Mr. Coicou's belligerence, he tried to defuse the situation and there was no reason for Detective Isnora to have
believed there was the possibility of violence when he approached Mr. Bell's car.
Closing arguments in the trial of three Detectives accused in the 2006 killing of Sean Bell outside a Queens nightclub were delivered April 14
by their lawyers and the Queens District Attorney's Office.
Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Cooperman, who heard the case without a jury at the Detectives'
request, has said that he will render a verdict April 25.
ID, Justification Keys
His decision is expected to hinge on two key elements: whether any of the Detectives identified themselves as police officers before
they began shooting at Mr. Bell and his two passengers, and whether the shooting was prompted by a legitimate concern that their lives might be in
danger.
No guns were found in the car driven by Mr. Bell or on his person or that of his companions, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman. One
of the Detectives on trial, Gescard Isnora, testified before a grand jury last year that he had heard a threat by Mr. Guzman to get a gun in response to a
dispute that Mr. Bell and other members of his bachelor party were having with a man outside the club, Fabio Coicou. Several of Mr. Bell's friends,
including Mr. Guzman and Mr. Benefield, stated that Mr. Coicou acted as though he had a gun in his coat pocket, and one of them said he had threatened to use
it.
Mr. Coicou denied having been armed at the time. But although he also testified during the trial that
he never heard an alleged threat by Mr. Guzman to "get my gat," Justice Cooperman will consider his previous statement to the Queens DA's Office
that such a threat was made.
Why Cops Didn't Testify
Neither Detective Gescard nor his two accused colleagues, Dets. Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper, testified in the case. Detectives
Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino said defense lawyers believed that their success in challenging the credibility of Mr. Benefield and Mr.
Guzman on the witness stand, combined with the fact that the prosecution read the Detectives' grand-jury testimony in court, eliminated the need for them
to testify in their own behalf. It also spared them the risk of being tripped up on cross-examination, as both the key witnesses against them
were.
Mr. Gescard and Mr. Oliver are both charged with manslaughter and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Mr. Cooper is
accused of reckless endangerment and faces no more than a year behind bars.
The fatal shooting took place near the Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica early on the morning of Nov. 25, 2006. The cops were seeking to
uncover evidence of illegal activity at the club that, coupled with its previous violations, would be enough to shut it down. (Kalua earlier this month lost
its liquor license because of past improprieties but is continuing to operate.)
Bell Was Inebriated
Mr. Bell, who was to be married later that day, was celebrating with his friends. Prior to the fatal confrontation, he drank heavily:
his blood-alcohol level when he was tested after the shooting was nearly twice the standard for being legally drunk in New York.
Detective Isnora was in plainclothes in the club trying to fit in with the other patrons. At one point he saw a gesture by a man
inside the club that he believed signaled that he was carrying a gun. He walked outside intending to alert his backups, but then, after overhearing the
argument between Mr. Coicou and Mr. Bell's group, he followed Mr. Bell back to his car.
He testified before the grand jury that when he approached the car and identified himself, Mr. Bell responded by driving forward and
striking him, then hitting a green minivan being driven by members of his back-up team. Detective Isnora said that he saw Mr. Guzman make a motion that he
believed might be a reach for a gun, and that perception, along with Mr. Bell's gunning the car straight at him a second time, prompted him to begin
shooting. He fired 11 bullets; Detective Oliver shot 31 times, at one point reloading his gun, and Detective Cooper fired four times. Two other officers,
neither of whom was criminally charged, fired the other four shots in the 50-bullet fusillade.
Says ID Was Shouted
One of those cops, Police Officer Michael Carey, was a key defense witness, stating that he clearly heard Detective Isnora tell the
men in Mr. Bell's car, "Police! Show your hands!" before the shooting started.
Another defense witness, a crime-scene expert, testified that it had taken him less than 13 seconds to fire 31 shots with a gun
similar to Detective Oliver's, a point the cops' lawyers hoped would illustrate that there had been little time to reflect while he believed he or his
fellow officers were in mortal danger. It was testified that the glass in Mr. Bell's Nissan Altima would have exploded from the gunfire in such a way that
cops could have had the mistaken impression that those in the car were shooting at them.
Defense lawyers during their cross-examinations of Mr. Benefield and Mr. Guzman sought to establish the possibility that changes in
their testimony on the witness stand from what they said earlier were designed to improve the chances of their winning a $50-million civil suit that they and
Mr. Bell's family have brought against the city.
By peppering Mr. Guzman with harsh, provocative questions, the defense lawyers also sought to undermine his claim that, rather than
making a gun threat in response to Mr. Coicou's belligerence, he tried to defuse the situation and there was no reason for Detective Isnora to have
believed there was the possibility of violence when he approached Mr. Bell's car.