Mass Sean Bell actions disrupt NYC

May 8, 2008

Sean Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Paultre-Bell.

New York, May 7: Many hundreds of people carried out massive protests and civil disobedience today, during the afternoon of a work day, in at least six key bridge and tunnel crossroads of New York City to demand justice for Sean Bell, the 23-year-old African American who was killed in a hail of 50 New York Police Department bullets in November 2006 in Jamaica, Queens, N.Y. The Rev. Al Sharpton and his group, National Action Network, initiated the actions with the support of the Bell family. The Bell case has become a rallying cry against rampant police brutality around the country.

Protesters getting arrested

Hundreds of people volunteered to get arrested on “disorderly conduct” charges for blocking streets and traffic to express outrage at Judge Arthur Cooperman’s not guilty verdict on April 25 in a Queens, N.Y. courtroom against three cops who were responsible for cutting short Bell’s life. At One Police Plaza, at least a hundred people got arrested including Sharpton and Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Paultre-Bell. Also arrested were International Action Center activists Sara Flounders and Dolores Cox. As people were being handcuffed and put in paddy wagons and buses, supporters chanted, “No justice, No peace”; “We are all Sean Bell” and “50 shots.” Protest actions took place at five other sites, including the Queensboro Bridge, the Midtown Tunnel and in Brooklyn and in Harlem, where an estimated 1,000 people turned out.

Report and photos by Monica Moorehead