Al Sharpton & Hundreds Of Others Arrested In Sean Bell Protest In NY
posted in News & Events, Racial Injustice | | EMail This Post | View blog reactions | Print This PostArrested along with Sharpton was Bell’s fiance’ Nicole Paultre Bell and the other two shooting victims in the car with Bell, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield.
Black America Web has the story:
Sharpton, Dozens Arrested in Bell Case Protest
Date: Wednesday, May 07, 2008
By: Tom Hays and David B. Caruso, Associated Press
NEW YORK - (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton was among dozens arrested Wednesday as demonstrators blocked traffic at the height of the evening rush hour to protest the acquittal of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man on his wedding day.
Police estimated that about 190 people were arrested, including Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man’s fiancee. They lined up and put their hands behind their backs as police arrested them on disorderly conduct charges.
Sharpton, the two survivors and the fiancee were released about four hours later, said Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger…
…The protests were part of a coordinated campaign to urge federal authorities to investigate the shooting of Sean Bell in November 2006.
The three officers were acquitted of state charges last month in a case that from the start ignited protests and spurred criticism of police tactics. One of the officers fired 31 shots, emptying his clip two times in a few short seconds.
Sharpton has said Wednesday’s “pray-in” protest was a preview of potential future demonstrations designed to paralyze the city…
U.S. attorney spokesman Robert Nardoza said the case was under review, but he declined to comment further about a possible federal case.
[see more first hand pictures like this at majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/ - thanks to Cooper for the heads up]
Sharpton, shooting survivors Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, and Bell’s fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell — who legally took his name after his death — linked arms as they blocked a street at the Brooklyn Bridge’s base.
They were trailed by at least 200 demonstrators who kneeled in prayer in the road and counted to 50 in a reference to the barrage of gunfire that killed Bell.
The arrested protesters were expected to be issued tickets for misdemeanor offenses.
On the opposite side of lower Manhattan, an ethnically diverse crowd of about 80 demonstrators chanted, “We’re fired up; we won’t take it no more,” and held hands as the Rev. James E. Booker Jr. blessed the crowd. After marching to the Holland Tunnel behind a “Stop the Brutality” banner, the protesters blocked two entrances…
There were also protestors into the hundreds at the Queensboro Bridge and Triborough Bridge in Harlem. Read the full story here
I’m still covering the Jena 6 at The Jena 6 Blog - just posted an update today
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