Detectives' Acquittals in Bell Case Laid To Shaky Witnesses; Judge: Threats Led Cops To React to 'Perceived Criminal Conduct'

By RICHARD STEIER

In slightly less than 10 minutes, Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Cooperman April 25 lifted the weight shouldered by three Detectives the previous 17 months by finding them not guilty in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell.

Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow A TRAGEDY BUT NO CRIME: Dets. Marc Cooper, Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver spoke with reporters at their union's headquarters four hours after being acquitted of all charges in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell outside a Queens club.

Before an overflow audience, with Court Officers ringing the aisles as a security precaution, Justice Cooperman explained that he had concluded that Gescard Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper had been justified in believing they were responding to "criminal conduct" when they opened fire on a car driven by Mr. Bell, who was accompanied by Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield after leaving his bachelor party at the nearby Club Kalua in Jamaica.

Didn't Believe Key Witnesses

An essential component of his decision, he made clear, was that the witnesses against the three cops, including Mr. Guzman and Mr. Benefield, were not credible, having offered testimony at trial that was riddled with inconsistencies or contradicted their earlier statements to either the Queens District Attorney's Office or the grand jury that later brought indictments against the Detectives. He indicated that he believed some of the changes in stories were motivated by the $50-million lawsuit those two men have brought against the city in conjunction with Mr. Bell's family.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow AN ADVOCATE 'TIL THE END: Detectives Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino, with Dets. Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver to his left, says they were justified in shooting at Sean Bell and two passengers in his car because 'that vehicle was being used as a deadly weapon against these officers.'

As the judge's explanation led to his declaration that, "The people have not proved that each defendant was not justified beyond a reasonable doubt in the action that each took," murmurs and gasps emanated from the right side of the courtroom, where Mr. Bell's survivors, including the woman he was due to marry on the day he was killed, were sitting.

Tears and Hugs 

Tears appeared in Detective Oliver's eyes as he shook hands with defense attorneys, and Mr. Isnora hugged his lawyers, Philip Karasyk and Anthony Ricco. Mr. Ricco's bristling cross-examination of Mr. Guzman provided the dramatic crescendo of the trial, while also undercutting the witness's claim that he had tried to serve as a peacemaker rather than uttering a threat to get a gun during an argument with another man, Fabio Coicou, outside Kalua. It was that threat, Detective Isnora had told the grand jury that indicted him, that moved him to pursue Mr. Bell and his companions, setting in motion the events that concluded with cops firing 50 shots, killing Mr. Bell and wounding his two passengers.

Justice Cooperman cited both "criminal convictions" and demeanor on the witness stand as two factors he considered in assessing the credibility of the witnesses against the Detectives. Both those criteria seemed to be referring most directly to Mr. Guzman, who had served two separate jail terms for felony convictions and became increasingly more combative during Mr. Ricco's cross-examination, at one point demanding of the lawyer, "Where you from? Where you from?"

The Chief-Leader/Michael O'Kane 'WE ACCEPT THE VERDICT': Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown reacts to the ruling that his office failed to prove its case against the three cops charged in the Sean Bell shooting.

Coicou Changed Story

Mr. Coicou during the trial claimed that no threats had been made during his encounter with Mr. Bell and his friends, even though in his initial statements to the DA's Office he said that Mr. Guzman at one point threatened to "get my gat." Several other witnesses testified that Mr. Coicou had acted as if he had a gun in his coat pocket during that encounter at about 4 a.m. Nov. 25, 2006, and that he had been challenged by Mr. Bell - who was later found to be legally drunk at the time - and others in his party.

Based on the evidence before him, Justice Cooperman said, "The confrontation that took place in front of the club was heated" and Mr. Coicou threatened members of Mr. Bell's party and gave the impression that he was armed.

"The court finds another threat was made by Joseph Guzman to retrieve a gun," Justice Cooperman said.

The number of shots fired by cops had shocked many New Yorkers, and Mayor Bloomberg said a couple of days after the shooting that it appeared that "excessive" force might have been used. But Justice Cooperman, who heard testimony from a defense expert that the 31 bullets fired by Detective Oliver could have been squeezed off in less than 13 seconds, even given the time he took reloading, noted, "The incident lasted just seconds."

'Perceived Criminal Conduct'

Before Detective Isnora began the shooting that would lead him to fire 11 times, Mr. Bell had struck him with his car with sufficient force to leave an imprint of the cop's jeans on its bumper, then collided with a minivan carrying Detective Oliver, then backed up and surged forward again in the direction of the cops.

"The officers responded to perceived criminal conduct," Justice Cooperman said.

Whether the overall police response contained elements of "carelessness and incompetence," he said, "must be left to other forums," an apparent reference to the NYPD disciplinary hearings each of the acquitted Detectives still faces.

There were some angry words uttered by supporters of Mr. Bell and his family as they left the courtroom, and the Reverend Al Sharpton later called the verdict "an abortion" of justice.

DA: A Fair Process

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, whose office prosecuted the three cops, said the judge "discharged his responsibilities fairly and conscientiously under the law. I accept his verdict - and I urge that all fair-minded people do the same."

Four hours after their acquittal, the three Detectives spoke briefly to reporters in the Manhattan headquarters of their union, the Detectives Endowment Association. Each read brief statements thanking the judge, their attorneys and their union; Mr. Cooper took the further step of saying he was "sorry to the Bell family for the tragedy ... This is the start of my life back."

Because he was charged only with reckless endangerment, he had faced the least-severe penalty - a maximum of a year in prison - if convicted. Detectives Isnora and Oliver had been charged with manslaughter and could have been sentenced to up to 25 years.

DEA President Michael J. Palladino, who began the press conference by saying, "Our thoughts and our sympathy go out to the Bell family," called the verdict a victory "for all of law-enforcement in this city and throughout the country."

Feared Chilling Effect

In an interview a week earlier, noting that the cops were part of an undercover operation meant to root out illegal activity at Kalua - which recently lost its liquor license because of a history of unsavory conduct on its premises, including prostitution and drug-dealing - Mr. Palladino said convictions would force the NYPD to re-examine many of its undercover efforts because of the risk of cops being criminally convicted if circumstances required them to use deadly force.

"How do you spell relief?" Mr. Palladino asked rhetorically at the press conference. "N-o-t g-u-i-l-t-y."

He called Mr. Guzman's behavior on the witness stand once he was subjected to tough cross-examination by Mr. Ricco, James Culleton on behalf of Detective Oliver, and Paul Martin for Detective Cooper, "the major turning point in this case."

Harsh Words for DA

Speaking of the Queens DA's Office, Detective Palladino said, "You need credibility and you need evidence and they had none." He accused the lead prosecutor, Charles Testagrossa, of having "disingenuously presented this case to the grand jury" by not providing it with all the physical evidence and failing to challenge Mr. Coicou about discrepancies between what he told the grand jury and his original statements to the prosecutors.

The DEA leader, without identifying anyone by name, also criticized elected officials "who decided to prejudge these Detectives" and labor leaders who appeared at rallies held by Mr. Bell's supporters, saying, "Now we know why organized labor is in the shape it's in in this country."

Told of Mr. Sharpton's characterization of the verdict as "an abortion," Mr. Palladino responded, "That's despicable for him to say that because we have the greatest criminal-justice system in the world."

Federal Case Possible

The Bell family asked the U.S. Justice Department to examine the case to see whether a Federal civil rights prosecution was warranted. Mr. Ricco said that based on past precedent, he thought it "very unlikely" that such a case would be brought. One reason, he said, was that in contrast to many jury verdicts and even rulings by judges, in this instance Justice Cooperman made "specific findings of fact ... findings that they were on the job and took appropriate action."

Mr. Ricco, whose own participation in the case had been criticized by some Bell supporters who questioned why a black attorney would represent a cop against such charges, took issue with those who said the shooting hadn't bothered the Detectives. He told reporters that each of their families in the aftermath of the shooting and during the trial experienced pain "that you're not interested in and you don't know nothing about."

Mr. Culleton took issue with a Daily News story last week in which Mr. Bell's father said that he was particularly disturbed by Detective Oliver's conduct and attitude.

'He Feels Horrible'

"My client feels horrible about" the outcome of the shooting, Mr. Culleton said. "He knows that ultimately it was his bullet that killed Mr. Bell."

The three Detectives, Mr. Palladino noted, were likely to remain on modified assignment until a Federal inquiry and departmental deliberations are concluded.

Mayor Bloomberg issued a statement following Justice Cooperman's ruling saying, "America is a nation of laws, and though not everyone will agree with the verdicts and opinions issued by the courts, we accept their authority." He held an event in Jamaica, not far from the shooting scene, a couple of hours after the verdict in what seemed an attempt to calm any anger stirred by the acquittals.

With the NYPD filling the streets with officers as a deterrent against disturbances, there were few signs of trouble in the hours after the verdict, and Mr. Palladino said he hoped it would stay that way. "There's no need for violence," he said.

A similar assessment came from Richard Green, an activist who runs the Crown Heights Youth Collective and has long been known for easing tensions in that neighborhood. Standing outside the Queens courthouse minutes after the verdict was announced, a police helicopter circling overhead, he said he doubted there would be unrest beyond street rallies, explaining, "We're past that as a city. We've been there and we're much more sophisticated."