Police officers on trial for killing black man

US: ON THE steps of the courthouse, a man handed out badges emblazoned with a bullet wound and a number. Protesters waved placards carrying the same number and counted in unison until they reached the figure at the heart of this case: 50.

That is how many rounds undercover police officers fired at Sean Bell, killing the unarmed 23 year old after his bachelor party at a Queens nightclub in November 2006. Two of the officers involved in the shooting went on trial for manslaughter on Monday.

Michael Oliver, who fired 31 times, and Gescard Isnora, who fired 11 shots, are accused of first- and second-degree manslaughter. If convicted, they could serve up to 25 years in prison. A third officer, Marc Cooper, is being tried separately for reckless endangerment. Two officers who fired three shots or less were not indicted.

Angry observers said the shooting is a familiar New York story of police brutality against blacks. But the prosecutor of the two police officers called it bad police work and a crime.

"The story of how this tragedy occurred is a tale of carelessness verging on incompetence," said Charles Testagrossa, an assistant district attorney. "When the court has heard all the testimony . . . it will be clear that what happened cannot be explained away as a mere accident or mistake but can only be characterised as criminal."

On November 24th, 2006, a group of Mr Bell's friends threw him a bachelor party at Club Kalua, a local strip club. About 4am, Mr Bell and several friends, including Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, were headed for breakfast at a local diner by car.

Undercover officers, conducting a sting operation at Club Kalua that night, confronted Mr Bell outside the club.

Mr Bell hit one of the officers with the car he was driving, although he didn't knock him over. A hail of bullets followed, killing Mr Bell and wounding Mr Guzman and Mr Benefield.

A security guard at the club, Sean Spencer (39), testified that he heard two bursts of gunfire 10 to 15 seconds apart. One issue in the trial is whether the officers paused and reassessed, as they are instructed, after three shots.

But James Culleton, Mr Oliver's attorney, said: "The fundamental flaw in the people's case is its fixation on the number of shots." Mr Oliver believed the officers were under attack and responded, Mr Culleton said.

The officers waived a jury trial, fearing that any Queens jury would be biased because of extensive media coverage.

© 2008 Los Angeles Times© 2008 Los Angeles Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times