On April 25th, 2008 the three police officers that were indicted in the killing of Sean Bell were acquitted of all charges. Sean Bell was shot on his wedding day, along with two if his friends in a hail of fifty bullets. It was later discovered that they were unarmed, and there is now much speculation on the events that unfolded that night. There is the question of proper police protocol that was not followed, as well as the forcefulness of the incident. Either way, an unarmed man was killed and no one will pay for it. While reading about this trial, it reminded me of Amadou Diallo, and the similarities between the cases.
In 1999, Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea was shot and killed by four police officers. Of the forty-one shots, nineteen hit Diallo who was later found to be unarmed. The police officers claimed that he fit the description of a serial rapist in the area, and that he appeared to be armed. He in fact he was only armed with a wallet. Mass demonstrations against the acquittal of these officers were carried out. In 2000, my father and I attended one of these rallies in Union Square, and I vividly remember the crowds honoring Diallo's life and protesting the circumstances of his death.
In the case of Sean Bell, his surviving family has hired Al Sharpton as their advisor. Following the acquittal of the accused officers, the family has promised to round up the masses to perform civil disobedience, boycotting and other practices that would express their feeling towards the outcome of the trial. Hopefully this will lead to some action; preferably legal action that will prevent similar future occurrences and hold that shooting at unarmed citizens is not acceptable and will have harsher punishments. Also, these will hopefully lead to more effective police training so that officers on the job have safe protocol to follow at all times.
In 1999, Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea was shot and killed by four police officers. Of the forty-one shots, nineteen hit Diallo who was later found to be unarmed. The police officers claimed that he fit the description of a serial rapist in the area, and that he appeared to be armed. He in fact he was only armed with a wallet. Mass demonstrations against the acquittal of these officers were carried out. In 2000, my father and I attended one of these rallies in Union Square, and I vividly remember the crowds honoring Diallo's life and protesting the circumstances of his death.
In the case of Sean Bell, his surviving family has hired Al Sharpton as their advisor. Following the acquittal of the accused officers, the family has promised to round up the masses to perform civil disobedience, boycotting and other practices that would express their feeling towards the outcome of the trial. Hopefully this will lead to some action; preferably legal action that will prevent similar future occurrences and hold that shooting at unarmed citizens is not acceptable and will have harsher punishments. Also, these will hopefully lead to more effective police training so that officers on the job have safe protocol to follow at all times.
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