‘Blowback’ phenomenon cited in Sean Bell trial

The defense’s latest witness in the trial of the three detectives accused of killing groom-to-be Sean Bell on his wedding day said that the officers might have thought they were being fired on because of a phenomenon called “blowback.”
Alexander Jason, a crime scene analyst, said that the cops’ bullets that shattered the front window of the Nissan Altima might have led Detective Gescard Isnora to believe he was being fired on.
“Glass is projected in the direction of the bullet - but also backwards towards the shooter,” Jason said in published reports.
In earlier testimony, Isnora said that he believed Joseph Guzman, Bell’s friend who was wounded in the November 25, 2006 shooting and who today walks with a cane, was reaching for a gun.
Jason, who conducted various simulations, said that he fired 31 times - the same number as Detective Michael Oliver - in only 12.3 seconds, and that it included reloading, as Oliver did.
The analyst also took aim at prosecution witness Trent Benefield, Bell’s pal who claimed he was shot in the legs running away from the fracas.
Jason said that from evidence, it appeared Benefield was shot while seated.
The scientific evidence completely contradicts not only the prosecution’s theory, but the prosecution’s witnesses as well, said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, in published reports.
Both Detectives Gescard Isnora, who fired 11 times, and Michael Oliver, who face up to 25 years in prison, have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. Detective Marc Cooper, who fired four times and may face a year in jail if convicted, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of reckless endangerment.