NY Gov. Panders to Sharpton, Rallies Against Police

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NY Gov. Panders to Sharpton, Rallies Against Police

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New York Gov. David Paterson, second from right, speaks to reporters during a news conference with Al Sharpton, center and Sean Bell's fiance Nicole Paultree Bell, right, and parents William, left, and Valerie Bell, Thursday, May 8, 2008 in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. David Paterson pledged to examine undercover police conduct on Thursday, a day after more than 200 people were arrested protesting the acquittal of three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed man.

Paterson said he understood the activists’ frustrations as he stood with the slain man’s fiancee and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who were among the demonstrators arrested while disrupting evening rush hour traffic. But the governor stopped short of endorsing their actions.

“No civil servant can condone civil disobedience,” Paterson said, but he added: “They felt that they had no other choice but to take the action that they took, and I respect the decision that they made to take that action.”

The governor’s involvement was a measure of the emotion and unrelenting attention surrounding the shooting of Sean Bell, who was gunned down hours before he was to be married in November 2006.

The gunfire stirred complaints about police tactics, and the acquittals on April 25 in state court prompted some activists to question the prospects of justice for minorities. Bell was black as were two of his friends wounded in the shooting; the officers are black, Hispanic and white.

Paterson, New York’s first black governor, said Thursday he would explore undercover officer procedures, saying the advocates had suggested plainclothes officers should not suddenly “change the script” and act as police.

He also said he would consider potential statewide legislation compelling officers to take sobriety tests after some shootings, such as those in which police fire at people who prove to be unarmed. The New York Police Department last year began requiring such tests when officers kill or wound someone.

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Sharpton and Bell’s supporters are pressing for federal civil rights charges in the case. Sharpton — who orchestrated Wednesday’s protests at the Brooklyn Bridge, the Holland Tunnel and other major transportation arteries — promised Thursday to stage another mass demonstration if progress wasn’t made toward their goals.

The next protest would be somewhere in New York City within seven to 10 days, said Charlie King, acting national director of Sharpton’s National Action Network.

Federal prosecutors are reviewing the case but declined comment Thursday.

Bell and his friends were shot as they left his bachelor party at a Queens strip club. The officers said they believed Bell and his friends were about to get a gun; no firearm was found. Bell’s friends said the police shot without warning, which the officers denied.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said his department is considering disciplinary action against the detectives.

Sharpton, shooting survivors Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman and Bell’s fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, were released Wednesday about four hours after their arrests on disorderly conduct charges. Paultre Bell legally took her fiance’s name after his death.

(c) YellowBrix, Inc.

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LAPDEdOShea

about 15 hours ago

461 comments

The Gov. of NY is an F-ing STAIN! This guy is a complete jackass!
rcrenzo

1 day ago

7 comments

All I have to say is Al Sharpton is a Facist Pig who only does what he does to get his name in the paper. Where was he when reginald denny was taken out of his truck and beaton to an inch of his life during the L.A. Riots and more recently where was he when the officer was shot and killed in Philidelphia while trying to apprehend robbery suspects. The way I see it is he is the main reason that there are so many problems revolving around race. This unfortunate act in NYC involved one black one hispanic and one white of which according to the report the black officer was the first to fire and yell hes got a gun. So for sharpton to even get involved is pointless. Do I agree with the verdict? I can't say I wasn't there nor do I know everything that went on. But I do know that Sharpton is more of a problem then a solution.
jfk2929

1 day ago

1 comment

I do not condone unauthorized or random shootings by police officers. As well I don't condone randomly scheduled orchestrated blocking of mass transit areas. What right do protestors have to put non participants in harms way ? What right do protestors have to damage, destroy, and prevent life and liberty of cvilians that have not had ANY part in the incidents that led up to the protests. I had had the unfortunate experience to be driving through such a protest, many years ago. My vehicle was damaged, Cracked window, dents in doors and hood, and chips in paint from various items thrown at my vehicle. My insurance did not cover most of the damage repairs. I feared for my life and limb as i drove, with no way out, except to drive through. I was not about to confront the protestors. What gives them (the protestors) the right to involve me in their efforts to right a possible wrong.
jameslopey

1 day ago

7 comments

This case has obviously spurred a great deal of controversy. I"ve followed it closely. It's the same old situation--armchair quarterbacks criticizing the actions of those who have to make "split-second" decisions, during extremely stressful and perilous conditions. Many of those who criticize have never had to make a split second decision of any great consequence. Police officers are trained to react to life and death situations and react they do.. Years ago I when I was a Detective Sergeant we were trying to arrest a subject for attempted murder and escape (from an unrelated homicide). We heard a shot and assumed the suspect fired on us. Before I realized it I had fired 8 rounds at the subject's car and did a tactical reload. He was injured but got away. He later claimed he hadn't fired the shot and we didn't recover the gun (we did find a holster). This all happened in just a few seconds. I guess my point is that many of us have been in perilous situations where the wrong decision might have met death or serious injury (for us). I think I was right in firing those rounds but later the crook denied he had fired his gun when captured in New York State. It's easy to criticize and politicize police actions because most of those who cast stones fail to recognize the risks and are often ignorant of the decision making process that is necessary when faced with an extreme threat (or perception). What would Al Sharpton have done in the same situation if he was faced with immiment death or injury? I also doubt this was racially motivated. I've known some NY cops and spent time with a couple at the FBINA. They've all been top notch in my opinion. The cops I served with and those that you know do it because they were good people and enjoy the work. There's no room for bigots in our profession and the cops I know risk their lives daily for any and ALL citizens.. Anyway I'm sorry someone died but the system prevailed and the Judge probably had more facts than any of us..Let those cops get on with their lives. At least they walked the line and were out there trying to do their jobs to protect society--maybe the end result wasn't pretty but they were there and we were not. Jim (Asst. Sheriff/Retired)
Maugwa

2 days ago

207 comments

Yeah............what Robocop said. Seriously, If we would just leave the BOY (al) alone he would pick up his toys and go home. On second thought, he wouldn't have any toys cause the white man has them all................so he'd steal our toys and go home. I can live with anything as long as we can get him to go the phuck home.
Offroader21

2 days ago

177 comments

Thank you robocop33 you said everything i wanted to.
larry596

2 days ago

48 comments

WELL NOW KIDS HERE WE ARE AGAIN WITH AL AND THE GANG (REMINDS ME OF ALFALFA ON OUR GANG COMEDY) JESSIE WITH YOU ? HOW ABOUT I COME AND GIVE YOU A RIDE IN MY CASH CAB SINCE U KNOW EVERYTHING. DAVID COPPERFIELD MIGHT NEED A MIND READER ASSISTANT. ONE THING FOR SURE BOYS I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO BE IN HEAVEN WITH MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS WHEN U COME TO THE GATES !! JOE OUR CRAZY ARIZONA SHERIFF HAS A 'VACANCY' FOR YOU ALL IN PHX. COME ON DOWN..
Robocop33

2 days ago

1359 comments

for the last few posters who are wanting something to be done to the Officers and feel sorry for the Bell family understand this, Bell is a felon and a known drug dealer with a violent past including weapons charges as were he 'friends' there with him. That is the reason those undercover officers were there. Two of those Officers were of colour. Bell was heard saying he was going to go get his gun. They was an attempt to stop them and place them under arrest in the car and they did not comply but made what the officers called furtive movements like they were reaching for something and they believed it to be a firearm. One suspect escaped and was reported to have been seen carrying what looked like a weapon(s) so he may well have run off with the evidence. It was also very chaotic right after the shooting and it is not unusual at all for weapons to suddenly disappear. These Officers did nothing wrong and everything right. Sharpton is a publicity whore and bigot whose sole existence and income comes from stirring up racial problems which usually end up hurting people of colour. He don't care as it gives him money and power. If Bell had been a Caucasian Sharpton would not have made a peep. He not longer even cares if the Officers are Caucasian or Negro, just the race of the suspect. I have been privileged to be a LEO for many years and I have known many, many thousands of LEO's from around the world and NONE of them ever has expressed a plan or desire to shoot, much less kill, another individual. I would venture to say that most if not all of us pray that we never have to do that but we do understand that sometimes it just has to happen to save either our life or the life of others. Many Officers have given their life in order to save others so if you ever think a cop wants to shoot someone, you are way off base.
daone

2 days ago

5 comments

jollyman14 u might want to re-read my comment.Who am I judging? Just like u, i have an opinion! Do the fact that I have a degree bothers u? I don't have to be a cop to know and understand feelings in a dangerous situation where i may have to choose my life or another's, but as a trained professional in LE the officer should be able to handle these type of situations better and without the use of excessive force. and because they are not suppose to fire their weapons, unless their lives are in imminent danger, does not mean they will always follow the rules. Racism still exists!!!Like u said u weren't there, u didn't see or feel what those officers felt..So u don't know if the decision was a split second or predetermined one. By the way I've walked several police beats and filled a few of their shoes. and for judging, who r u to judge Al Sharpton?LIFE is a HUMAN RIGHT AND U SAID THEY MADE THE WRONG CALL. So why wouldn't it be a civil rights case.?
tanyachyna

2 days ago

231 comments

I would have to agree with daone on this one, some of these comments are just plain derision! I dont think it is fair to the Bell family, I know that it becomes routine to some police officers "that is trying to make it home after the shift", but the fact still remains. This was not your average situation, there were no weapons found on the preps so I would consider this excessive force and there should be some type of sanction for these officers.
jollyman14

2 days ago

7 comments

Daone, your not a cop and you don't understand what the officers where feeling during this situation...NO ONE ON EARTH DOES! That's why shootings are the hardest things to handle, in every situation you have one side of the story, another side, and the truth. Everyone tells their version of the story , it's going to differ from person to person and we will never know exactally what happened. If you just graduated with your degree in criminal history with your major focus being LE, then you know that LE officers all over the country are only aloud to use their weapon when they feel their life or someone else's life is in danger. Maybe they did think their lives or someone else's life was in danger, or maybe it was a cold blooded murder. But none of us will ever know, the only people that do are the LE officers that fired the shots, and God. Don't come on this site and pretend that because you have a degree you think you can you can judge these officers, if you want to judge them, go get a badge, walk a beat and put yourself in their shoes! I do think the incident is sad, but I'm not gonna judge these officers, why, because I WASN'T THERE, I DIDN'T SEE OR FEEL WHAT THOSE OFFICERS FELT! They made a judgment call in a spilt second, it was the wrong call, but they made it and they are paying the consequences of those actions! And that's why being and LEO is so hard, we have to make split second decisions and someone...like yourself...gets a chance to to pick it apart for months just to say, "Yup they shouldn't have shot." I don't think this is a civil rights case at all, I think it was a few cops who made a decesion on rather not to fire and just made the wrong choice, but if that man did have a gun and killed one of those officers, would Sharpton be willing to stand up for him? I bet not...
daone

2 days ago

5 comments

silverfox605 The color of the officers should not be an issue, but it is. i agree with some of what you're saying, but we live in a society where we do what we shouldn't do and unfortunately we suffer the consequences. Maybe it will get answers faster, maybe it won't, but you can't be so sure of that.
daone

2 days ago

5 comments

YES OFFICER IT'S VERY UNINTELLIGENT FOR YOU TO RESPOND ON HOW I PRESENT MY COMMENT. AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS: YES IT WAS NECESSARY AND NO I DIDN'T YELL ALL THOSE WORDS WHILE TYPING THEM. AND SO WHAT IF I DID THIS IS NOT ABOUT HOW DAONE PRESENTS HER COMMENTS.
silverfox605

2 days ago

4 comments

DAONE #$%()(%^%. i question you senseability and working knowledge as to any of this. All of the information is never mad available to the general public. A life was taken and some people question the means that he met his demise. One shouldn't judge others if you haven't the ability to understand the subject and all players involved. The color of the officers should not be an isssue, but how they handled this situation and allowed it to become one of questionable conduct. All of the protest will just cause problems for people who had nothing to do with the death. It won't get answers any faster either. I'm glad the Govenor is looking to this at a higher level.
AR15

2 days ago

7 comments

Al Sharpton is a racist capitalist who cares nothing about the black community. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson use blue collar black communities to make a buck and the only way they can keep the donations flowing is to keep thier faces in the news. They pick "black" causes, stir up the locals, incite racial tension, go off on unfactual rants to the media, and watch the money come pouring in. Mean while the black communities who follow these two like mindless sheep, are no better off, and often suffer from the racial problems that persist when these two run off to the next city to make thier next buck. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been ashamed of these clowns.