Sean Bell Settlement Reached: New York to Pay Over $7 Million

by Amy Judd | July 28, 2010 at 09:50 am

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The State of New York Will Pay Over $7 Million to Nicole Paultre Bell and Two of Sean Bell's Friends For the Fatal 2006 Shooting

Sean Bell was shot on November 25 2006 on what would have been his wedding day in a car outside a strip club in Queens; over 50 shots were fired by police officers that killed Sean Bell and wounded Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. It was reported that the officers thought at least one of the men in the car had guns, although it turned out none of them did.

Sean Bell Shooting Anniversary

Ms. Nicole Paultre Bell and Sean's two friends filed the lawsuit in 2007 accusing the police of wrongful death, negligence, assault and civil rights violations according to the New York Times. Despite numerous stops and starts, the lawsuit was finally settled and Ms. Bell with Mr. Bell's children will receive $3.25 million, with Joseph Guzman receiving $3 million and Trent Benefield receiving $900,000.

On Nov. 25, 2006, five police officers — three of whom were black and two white — fired 50 shots into the Nissan Altima that Mr. Bell was driving outside a strip club in Queens. The car struck a detective in the leg and hit a police van just before the officers began firing.

It has been called the 'most controversial police shooting in recent memory' and it sparked a debate about the use of deadly force by the police and was the catalyst for making some changes in New York's policing procedures.

Three of the officers involved in the case were acquitted of manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges in 2008, while the other two did not face criminal charges reports the NYT.

At the federal courthouse in Downtown Brooklyn, Ms. Bell, 26, emerged from a courtroom looking weary after two days of negotiations, arm in arm with Mr. Bell’s mother, Valerie. Ms. Bell said the settlement was fair but not a victory. “No amount of money can provide closure, no amount of money can make up for the pain,” she said. “We’ll just try to learn how to live with it and move on.”