Trial of three undercover New York police officers who killed an unarmed black man with 50 shots on his wedding day has been kicked off, according to media reports Tuesday.
The shooting can't be explained "as a mere accident or mistake," a prosecutor in the trial said Monday. "They were careless and desperate to make an arrest because their vice unit was about to be disbaned."
Sean Bell, 23, was killed on Nov. 25, 2006, following a bachelor party at a Queens nightclub, and two of his friends were wounded too.
Detectives Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver are charged with manslaughter while Detective Mark Cooper is on trial for reckless endangerment in the shooting.
The lawyer for one of the defendants said in his opening statement that he would introduce evidence showing that Bell was drunk and "out of control" during the early morning confrontation.
Assistant District Attorney Charles Testagrossa said the police vice operation at the Queens strip club where Bell's bachelor party was held was "haphazard at best."
Testagrossa said Isnora, who fired 11 of the shots, failed to display his badge and wait for backup, and gave contradictory orders to Bell and his friends.
He said that once the evidence is heard, "It will be clear that what happened cannot be explained away as a mere accident or mistake."
Outside the courthouse in Queens, a handful of noisy protesters chanted and banged on drums to show their support for the shooting victims and Bell's family.
Demonstrators have called the case an example of police brutality toward blacks even though one of the defendants is a black and another is a black Hispanic. The third defendant is white.
The victim's fiancee Nicole Paultre-Bell, who legally took her fiance's name after his death, has said she plans to be in court every day for hearing.
The shooting has sparked protests and debate over excessive force and police conduct in New York City, and reopened wounds between the New York police department and black communities, as media report.
Source: Xinhua/Agencies
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