Ilya Marritz
Ilya Marritz covers business for WNYC.
Siegel Says Sean Bell Verdict Was Flawed
Sunday, April 27, 2008
New York, NY –
Supporters of Sean Bell held another rally Sunday at the Harlem headquarters of the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network.
REPORTER: Protestors want the US justice department to bring a federal civil rights case against the three NYPD detectives who've been acquitted of all charges in the 50-bullet shooting outside a Queens strip club in November of 2006.
That verdict was flawed, according to civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, who cited systemic problems in the criminal justice system. In a news conference Sunday that included black police officers, Siegel said he has questions about how the Queens district attorney prosecuted the detectives:
SIEGEL: Why didn't the prosecutors call an expert witness to the stand to describe alternative ways for an officer to approach Sean Bell's car as distinguished from the way the officers approached his car?
REPORTER: In his ruling Friday, Justice Arthur Cooperman cited inconsistent testimony from prosecution witnesses and said the undercover officers at Club Kalua had reason to believe Bell and his friends presented a threat.
Siegel called for the creation of an independent state special prosecutor to handle cases of alleged police brutality and corruption. State Senator Eric Adams, a former police officer himself, said he will propose legislation to create a special prosecutor's office in New York State.
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