Verdict in Sean Bell Shooting: Not Guilty!
“They got away with murder in there,” "This verdict parallels the outcome of previous police shootings of black men. “Connect the bullets,” he said. “How many times did they shoot Diallo? Forty-one times.
They were acquitted. They got a pension.” (Comments from the crowd after verdict announced.)
Nov. 25, 2006, Sean Bell, a 23-year-old New York City man due to be married later that day, left a Queens strip club, climbed into a car with two friends who had been celebrating with him. The car drove around the corner and for some reason slammed into unmarked police minivan. They backed up, hit a storefront and nearly struck an undercover officer before lunging forward and slamming into the police van again. That's when all heck broke loose. Supposedly someone from the car yelled, "Get my gun." The officers in the van started shooting. Bell was killed by 2 out of 50 bullets fired by the officers.
The detectives were found not guilty on all charges.
It's called being at the wrong place at the wrong time!
This society will continue to suffer until it changes it's reactionary ways. Being proactive would have prevented this from happening.
1) Was this a known "bad guy" hangout? If so, why weren't steps taken to shut it down, arrest the criminals, stop criminal activity (prostitution, drugs, guns etc.) Why are the criminals allowed to have such a sense of freedom that they would be so brazen as to shout "Where's my gun?" in front of the police?
2) This wasn't racial. It was situational. If you hadn't noticed, 2 out of the 3 officers were African American. If this was a known mafia hangout and 3 Italians came out and slammed into the van, they would have been shot as well. Black, white, green or blue. It doesn't matter what color you are. If the situation is stereotypical, you're at risk for being judged that way. It won't matter if you're guilty of anything.
If you hang out at the wrong place with the wrong people you just might get killed. You can scream, "It's the principal of the thing" all you want but that doesn't bring Sean or any other innocent victim back. Everyone has someone who loves them and will be heartbroken when tragedy strikes.
3) Why did it take 50 bullets? I don't think it's because they were looking to massacre these guys. I think it took 50 shots because they have lousy aim when they're stressed. They felt endangered and they weren't going to stop shooting till everything and everyone stopped moving.
The NYPD needs to be trained to handle the beast called New York. The better the training, the less likely to "freak out" and start shooting.
I love my city and I would love to be proud of my police officers but many are overweight, under educated, unenlightened, non-city residents.
Send them through physical and psychological boot camp. Make it a job with pride and honor, like the military. You'll find the community more likely to stand by the force.
Everyone involved is guilty of BAD JUDGEMENT. Remember, you are only one decision away from ruining your life, so think, think, think.
StyleSwag
Post a Comment
Reader Comments