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Hundreds protest police shooting of Sean Bell

BY T.W. FARNAM | Special to Newsday

December 10, 2006

Several hundred protesters marched through the Jamaica business district Saturday in the first NAACP-organized demonstration against police brutality in the wake of Sean Bell's death at the hands of police two weeks ago.

"We would like to have our young men walk the streets in their communities and not feel targeted," said Hilda Rodgers, the NAACP northeast regional director. "This is a rally for justice and change."

African-Americans of all ages marched four abreast with signs reading "Marching for Justice and Change" and "Legislative Justice for All." The protesters shouted "No Justice! No Peace!" and "50 shots! That's not hot!"

They also counted in unison to 50, the number of rounds that five police officers fired at Bell and his two friends as they were leaving his bachelor party in the early morning hours of Nov. 25, the day of his wedding. The three men were unarmed.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown is investigating the shooting and will present evidence to a grand jury. The five officers have surrendered their service weapons and been placed on administrative leave.

Circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, with other police officers who were there and witnesses saying they believed a fourth man was present, who may have been armed. Joseph Guzman, 31, and Trent Benefield, 23, Bell's two friends, have told authorities that no one else was with them.

The shooting has prompted continuing community outcry. At Saturday's demonstration, Tajuana Mcleod, 32, an accountant from Jamaica, held hands with her daughter Khayla, 7.

"I'm here because I have a teenage son," Mcleod said. "They shot in cold blood, and we don't want that to happen to anyone else."

The peaceful march culminated at the shooting site near the Kalua Cabaret. There, tearful demonstrators listened to NAACP leaders from around the city and City Councilmen Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and John Liu (D-Flushing) speak in front of a wall that has become a shrine to Bell, with posters, candles and several bunches of weathered flowers.

"It's our responsibility to make sure change happens. In the streets or in the courts, we will be there," Rodgers said, eliciting cheers and applause.

The New Black Panther Party led a smaller march that passed nearby the NAACP event, with participants calling for "black power" and revolution.