NEW YORK, NY February 29, 2008 —A police lieutenant gave testimony that could harm the cases of three detectives on trial in connection with the shooting death of Sean Bell.

Under questioning from a prosecutor Lieutenant Gary Napoli said that he could not recall seeing shields on two detectives nor did he hear anyone call out police commands on the night the shooting occurred.

Later, Napoli agreed with a defense attorney that the commands could have been shouted without him hearing them. Napoli was in charge of the undercover operation that went wrong at Club Kalua, a nightclub in Queens.

He testified that the shooting lasted only seconds and afterwards there was an eerie silence. He described not knowing where the gunshots were coming from.

Outside the courtroom Napoli's attorney said his client believes the detectives acted justifiably.

The three detectives on trial are facing manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges.

For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez