Federal authorities will not pursue charges against the officers
involved in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell, the unarmed bridegroom
who died in a hail of police bullets outside a Queens strip club hours
before his wedding, officials said yesterday.
Prosecutors said there was "insufficient evidence" that Bell's civil
rights were violated when undercover officers unloaded on a car
carrying Bell and two friends on a Jamaica street in November 2006.
Three of the five officers involved were tried and acquitted in 2008,
including Michael Oliver, who police said reloaded while firing 31 of
the 50 shots that filled the vehicle and surrounding streets.
The other two cops were never indicted.
Bitterly disappointed, Bell's parents and his fiancée, Nicole Paultre
Bell, sought input from federal prosecutors, only to have their
hopes dashed again.
Source: New York Post