While Lateboots will continue being your source for all things fashion, sometimes we have to stop and look at the world and acknowledge all that is going on. On November 25, 2006 a 23 year old black male named Sean Bell (seen above with his daughter) was killed the night before his wedding, after being caught in a firestorm of 50 bullets, shot by 3 NYPD detectives (Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper). The night Sean Bell was killed, began as a typical bachelors party (with friends Guzman and Benefield) at a strip club and ended tragically because of one detectives ill-informed decision to begin shooting. While investigating allegations of prostitution that occurred at the particular strip club where Bell was a patron, detectives observed Bell and his two friends as they interracted with others:
“As the club closed around 4 a.m., Sanchez and Isnora claimed they overheard Bell and his friends first flirt with women, then taunt a stranger who responded by putting his right hand in his pocket as if he had a gun. Guzman, they testified, said, "Yo, go get my gun" — something Bell's friends denied.”-Associated Press
One officer called for backup as the event escalated, moving outside:
“With tires screeching, glass breaking and bullets flying, the officers claimed that they believed they were the ones under fire. Oliver responded by emptying his semiautomatic pistol, reloading, and emptying it again, as the supervisor sought cover.
The truth emerged when the smoke cleared: There was no weapon inside Bell's blood-splattered car.”- Associated Press
Shot 50 times, the death of this young black male at the hands of police officers is a story that is heard too often and the non-guilty verdict of the trial is all too familiar.
(Belle and his fiancé Nicole)
What's your reaction?
Jennifer Pauline
|