Word: browne
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...those who monitored the case closely from the beginning saw no reason for surprise that the three detectives, Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper, were acquitted on Friday of all charges. They agreed that Queens District Attorney Richard Brown did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the cops were not justified in opening deadly fire in the incident - and his failure to do so, they argue, highlights the inherent problems with prosecuting via traditional means the long line of controversial police shootings of black victims...
...detectives chose to have a bench trial instead of one by jury, which many will argue slanted the case in their favor from the beginning. During the eight-week trial, dozens of witnesses were called by the prosecution, and many gave incongruent testimony, Brown admitted at a press conference after the verdict. For example, where shooting victim Joseph Guzman testified that Bell spoke to him just moments before he died, a medical examiner testified the shots destroyed Bell's ability to speak. Bell's other passenger, Trent Benefield, testified that he was shot in the legs twice while running away...
None of it came as a surprise to community policing advocates like Noel Leader, the co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. In fact, in his view, the case should never have been pursued by Brown...
Meyers said that early on it looked like the prosecution was in trouble because of its reliance on non-credible and often contradictory witnesses. He blames the relationship that Brown's office has with the police department. In the press conference, Brown admitted that his office does, in fact, work closely with the NYPD, further buttressing Meyers frustration that there is no state special prosecutor. "The civil rights community has been calling for years for this," he said, "but you don't have any leadership on the part of the governors of New York State...
Despite their acquittals, Oliver, Gescard and Isnora are not in the clear yet. They still face disciplinary action from the NYPD, a civil suit is pending, and Brown said the U.S. Attorney is considering a civil rights case. None of it, however, brings much solace to Bell's family, particularly his would-be bride Nicole Paultrie-Bell, who adopted his surname in the wake of his death and is left to raise their two children alone...