NEW YORK — Seven police officers were hit with disciplinary charges Tuesday in the 50-shot slaying of an unarmed groom-to-be on his wedding day — a case that has sparked protests and raised questions about the use of police firepower.
If found guilty at an internal trial, the officers — including three shooters acquitted last month at a criminal trial and their supervisor — could be fired.
A union official said Tuesday that the officers would fight the allegations.
Police officials described the move as procedural, citing guidelines requiring them to bring charges within 18 months of the incident.
The New York Police Department could take “further administrative steps” once the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn completes a review of the case, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Federal prosecutors have declined to discuss possible civil- rights charges.
Sean Bell, 23, died in a hail of 50 bullets Nov. 25, 2006, around the corner from a Queens topless bar where he had just had a bachelor party and where undercover police were investigating complaints of prostitution. Two of his friends were seriously wounded.
At a two-month trial, Detectives Gescard Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper said they opened fire on Bell’s car because they believed he and his friends were armed, and because the men defied orders to halt. No weapon was found.
Last month, the three were cleared of manslaughter and other charges. A judge, who heard the case instead of a jury, said prosecution witnesses who testified that the officers opened fire without warning lacked credibility.
The department last year served Isnora, Oliver and Cooper with administrative charges “which basically mirrored the criminal charges they faced as a result of their indictments,” Browne said.
Tuesday, additional charges were filed accusing the three detectives of firing outside of police guidelines. Isnora, who fired first, also was charged with “taking enforcement action while acting in an undercover capacity while other non-undercover officers were available,” Browne said.
