New York – An angry crowd demanded Sunday to know why police officers killed an unarmed man on the day of his wedding, firing dozens of shots that also wounded two of the man’s friends.
Some called for the ouster of the city’s police commissioner.
At a vigil and rally the day after Sean Bell, 23, was supposed to have married the mother of his two young children, a crowd led by the Rev. Al Sharpton shouted, “No justice, no peace.” At one point, the crowd of a few hundred counted off to 50, the number of rounds fired.
“We cannot allow this to continue to happen,” Sharpton said at the gathering outside Mary Immaculate Hospital, where one of the wounded men was in critical condition. “We’ve got to understand that all of us were in that car.”
Some in the crowd called for the ouster of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
Paul Browne, chief spokesman for the NYPD, said Sunday: “We are continuing to look for additional witnesses to shed light on the incident.”
The five officers were placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, Browne said.
Community leaders planned a rally Dec. 6 at police headquarters.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his aides were in contact with Bell’s family and community leaders throughout the weekend. Bloomberg and Kelly also planned to meet with community leaders today.
The shootings occurred about 4 a.m. Saturday outside a strip club in the Jamaica section of Queens where Bell’s bachelor party was held.
A car driven by Bell was struck by 21 police bullets after the vehicle rammed an undercover officer and hit an unmarked NYPD minivan. Kelly said Bell was involved in a verbal dispute outside the club and one of his friends made a reference to a gun. Investigators found no weapons.
