Day of Tears & Words of Rage

As a grieving widow said a final farewell to the husband that never would be, the group The New Black Panther Party led an angry community in demanding justice for Sean Bell.
Hundreds of mourners - many of whom didn't even know Bell personally - came out in the pouring rain on Friday, December 1 to pay their respects to the man shot dead by five police officers on his wedding day.
&#8220Anyone who has uncles, brothers, sisters feels it could have been them,” said one mourner.
&#8220I know someone whose son was killed,” said Crystal Wilson, crying. Wilson, who knows Bell's mother, Valerie, went on to say, &#8220This is horrible.”
The Community Church of Christ on 108th Avenue and 167th Street in Jamaica was filled to capacity with family members as large speakers set up outside broadcast the service that eulogized Bell as a family man who &#8220had dreams, goals and high aspirations.”
&#8220Sean was not perfect and neither is any of us,” said Bishop Lester Williams, the clergyman who was to marry Bell and fiance Nicole Paultre (who now uses Bell's last name), but instead performed funeral services. &#8220He did the right thing [by wanting to marry Paultre].”
Williams went on to urge mourners, &#8220Be angry, but sin not. Because we forgive doesn't mean we won't seek justice. We must not mar the memory of Sean with violence and dereliction of behavior. We must instead be part of the fabric of change.”
The Reverend Al Sharpton, addressing Bell's parents and Paultre, said, &#8220They took his life - we cannot let them take his legacy. We must give Sean a legacy, a legacy of justice, a legacy of fairness, not a legacy against police. We don't hate cops. We don't hate race. We hate wrong. We dislike wickedness in high places.”
Sharpton then turned to Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, and, referring to the fourth man that investigators are currently seeking, said, &#8220I don't believe he exists,” and the church erupted in applause.
Just as the services ended and the casket was being ushered out by pallbearers, the skies opened up and torrents of rain poured down.
At the same time, the reverential silence of the crowd was broken, and many began to rally and chant &#8220No justice, no peace” and &#8220N-Y-P-D P-I-G.”
And although officers were on hand, none intervened.
In response to the cries, Williams told the crowd, &#8220The family doesn't want this. That's not going to solve anything.”
Denise Ford, the mother of Trent Benefield, one of the other men injured in the November 25 incident, echoed the sentiment.
&#8220Please,” she pleaded, &#8220we don't want any more trouble.”
On the following day, Saturday, December 2, as Bell was buried in Nassau Knolls Cemetery in Port Washington, Long Island, and Paultre, wearing her wedding ring, collapsed in tears, screaming &#8220No, No, No,” members of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), along with members of the Bloods and Crips gangs, organized a march beginning at the site of the shooting at 94th Avenue and Liverpool Street.
&#8220This day will mark the end of Gestapo tactics on black people,” said Imam Akbar, National Minister of Justice with the NBPP. &#8220Police are there to serve and protect, not to murder.”
In a show of angry solidarity, many carried signs that read &#8220An eye for an eye,” &#822050 Shots + NY Cops = Murder,” and &#8220Off the pigs who kill our kids.”
Another member of the NBPP, Dr. James Macintosh, told those gathered, &#8220My message is not a message of peace. It's a message of justice. If a person talks bullets, they won't understand if you speak another language.”
Dr. Malik Zulu Shabazz, chair of the NBPP, stirred the crowd next.
After asking for a moment of peace for Bell, he called Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly &#8220the number one gang leader in New York City.”
Shabazz then called on the black community to utilize economic power as a means of retaliation.
&#8220Start with 125th Street,” he said. &#8220If it [the store] isn't owned by someone who looks like you, then boycott every business. Someone has to pay.”
On Monday, December 4, Paultre made an appearance on CNN's &#8220Larry King Live,” where she told the host, &#8220I have faith that we will definitely get justice.”
She said she harbors no ill will toward the NYPD.
&#8220To be honest, I'm really not angry,” she said. &#8220I'm just trying to be strong. We want justice. Me and my family, we want justice. That's what we are praying for.”

Investigation continues - no rush to judgment
BY TONIA N. CIMINO AND PETE DAVIS
With the police shooting that killed Sean Bell, 23, and seriously injured two of his friends more than 10 days old, prosecutors continue to work around the clock interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence to decide whether to file charges against any of the five New York City Police Officers involved in the shooting.
&#8220I'll reach no conclusion until the investigation is complete,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said on Tuesday, December 5. &#8220There is going to be no rush to judgment, certainly on my part, and I would hope by the public at large.”
Prosecutors interviewed Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, the two friends wounded in the shooting, from their hospital beds on Sunday, December 3, as well as other friends of Bell who attended his bachelor party at Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica on November 25, when officers fired 50 shots at the vehicle the three men were in after leaving the club.
However, Brown said his team still needs to gather a great deal of documentary evidence, toxicology reports and ballistic reports, hospital records, the autopsy as well as interview more witnesses and the five officers who fired their weapons.
Philip Karasyk, an attorney who represents one of the undercover officers who fired his weapon, said that his client is prepared to testify at the appropriate time, but that his action was justified.
&#8220It’s our position that the officers were justified in taking the action they did based on what was going on in that 15-20 seconds,” Karasyk said. &#8220These officers acted according to NYPD regulations.”
Karasyk also said the officers involved in the shooting have made hundreds of arrests, many for gun collars and none had ever fired his gun.
&#8220These guys are not cowboys,” he said. &#8220They are very saddened by the death of Sean Bell. They feel for the family - they are family men themselves.”
Meanwhile, during a news conference on Sunday, December 3, civil rights attorney Norman Siegel called for an independent prosecutor to get involved in the case since Brown's office regularly works with the police and to avoid a conflict of interest.
However, Brown and other city leaders were quick to rebuke those calls saying that his investigation would be independent of the police.
&#8220We have a great, great deal more to be done before possibly asking us when we are going to be finished with our investigation,” Brown said Tuesday. &#8220It's got to take time if we're going to do it right, and I want to make certain that we get it right,” Brown said.