Last weekend, 7 New York Police Department detectives were on an undercover anti prostitution sting operation at the Kalua Cabaret, a strip club in the Jamaica section of the Borough of Queens, New York.
Sean Bell, a 23 year old UPS worker and minor league baseball player who was about to get married the next day, just happened to be a customer at the club that night - his friends took him their for his bachelor party.
He and his freinds were asked to leave after some other guys got in an argument with them. As they were leaving, the detectives (who never showed their badges or identified themselves) ran up on Bell and his buddies in their car.
Bell, fearing a robbery, tried to flee the armed men approaching him. The detectives, who still hadn't identified themselves, raked Bell's car with 50 gunshots (one detective fired 31 times - he actually had to stop and reload!) Bell died, his two friends are still in the hospital.
What do you think about this?
Should the cops have shot this man?
Should the police even have been there in the first place (after all, is sex for cash in a strip club REALLY THAT BIG A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY?)
What do you think should happen to those detectives who shot this man execution style, while he was still seatbelted in his car?
2006-12-02 11:43:54 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in News & Events ➔ Current Events
This could have been prevented from the jump if the undercover officer had gone to the dude inside the club, informed him he was the police, and frisked him down since he observed him patting his waist as if he had a gun. End of story. BUT! Since he chose to go outside and tell his fellow officers of his SUSPICIONS, he got everyone hyped up and over zealous and bang bang. It appears they were no more than thugs in uniforms. Now they're looking for the "phantom" 4th person who they say jumped out of the car and hey, he MUST'VE been the one w/ the gun they say. Well, it's not a good time to be a Black male in NYC as they're gonna "find" this 4th gun toting dude, by hook or by crook.
2006-12-02 12:34:14 · answer #1 · answered by megamillions1m 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
just brutal what happened to that guy and his friends. a messed up situation all around. the number of rounds (50) seems shocking but it's not uncommon in a police shootout to have a bunch of rounds fired, 9mm sidearms can spit out 15 bullets in just a matter of seconds.
i just hope they do a thorough investigation and settle this as best they can.
i agree that hustling a sting operation at a topless bar is pretty lame, unless it was to nab a major narcotics trafficker.
2006-12-02 19:54:09 · answer #2 · answered by Super G 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have seen this on TV, and am so sorry for Sean and his Fiancee and family... I wish I could supply you with an answer for this tragedy, but I cannot. This case should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law, and rersponsible parties should be penilized to the fullest extent of the law, too... I truly hope justice is served in this situation......
2006-12-02 19:58:28 · answer #3 · answered by mobileminiatures 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I obviously don't know all the details about this. However, police are under a tremendous amount of pressure and stress. I am sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I am sure Sean Bell and his friends aren't completely innocent. Just the fact that they got involved with the cops must mean there was something wrong.
Just like Amadou Diallo, who got what was coming because instead of putting up his hands and make a quick statement, he put up a wallet in the dark that the officers thought might have been a gun. So I really have no sympathy for him.
I have been to numerous bachelor parties and never had an encounter with cops. That club was known for trouble, so if these guys were on the up and up, they never would have gone to that club in the first place.
2006-12-04 15:38:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 7⤋
Sounds like an interesting news story. Not heard of it though but you know how stupid people get when anything involves Jews, Nazi's and prositution.
2006-12-02 19:55:01 · answer #5 · answered by Earth 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
in my opinion, we should all get together and stone those cops to show the government we will not allow our follow constituents to be killed and beat. most cops are crooked anyways. they let their fellow officers go when they get stopped drunk driving. they all speed in the cruisers and law makers bang hookers...stone them
2006-12-02 19:55:42 · answer #6 · answered by cjone782000 2 · 6⤊ 0⤋
We really don't know what happened there; we only know what the newspapers and TV portrays. Let's give everyone time to perform an investigation and gather the facts before we immedietly decide the police were at fault. And police DO have to do anti prostitution stings - prostitution is still a crime for a lot of good reasons.
Hope this helps!
2006-12-02 19:53:37 · answer #7 · answered by rita_alabama 6 · 1⤊ 7⤋
This has been going on for generations and it will continue to go on.
Nothing will happen to the so-called policeman because they cover for their own and it will be called justifiable.
In reality it called....LEGALIZED MURDER.
2006-12-02 20:06:13 · answer #8 · answered by daljack -a girl 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
he attacked an undercovercop with his car.
2006-12-02 20:27:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋