There was a thread on this somewhere but I haven't seen it in a while.
How about you kickstart the discussion. I honestly don't know enough information about the case to say too much either way. I have read several articles but nothing that comes close to concrete evidence of much.
I've read a tremendous lot about the case long before the verdict was decided... I've read various news stories... the entire testimony of the officer who fired 31 bullets... New York Times reports of the testimonies given by Guzman and Benefield... and an article that gives a short summary of the testimonies of every witness, both for the prosecution (of which there were fifty) and the defense (less than 10, if im not mistaken.)
Everything leads me to believe that Detective Isnora was justified in opening fire (he fired 11 shots) because he was certain someone in the car had a gun (though there was no gun, the statement "yo, go get my gun" told him Guzman was going to get a gun. You can't judge a man's intent during the moment using hindsight) and was trying to kill him (Bell tried to run him over... twice.. succeeded in striking him once.)
As for the man who fired 31 shots... he had shown no aggression towards Bell or his passengers, so there was no reason for Bell to crash his Altima into the van driven by Detective Oliver. If you blame it on his being drunk, not being able to stop after trying to run over a guy who was waving a gun in his face, there is no excuse for running into the van a second time. Again, we have a man who was convinced Guzman had a gun (as he was told by the detective who heard "yo, go get my gun")... and knew the intent of the people in the altima was to cause him and his fellow officers harm, as evidenced by the fact that they were run into twice by the Altima. After emptying a clip (15 bullet magazine + 1 in the chamber), he noticed the car was still coming towards him, and it looked like Guzman was about to raise a gun... so he reloaded and kept on shooting. Hearing the other gunshots, thinking they were coming from the Altima, he didn't feel safe even after he emptied a second clip. These 31 shots were fired in only a matter of seconds. And it's not that he was a bad shot, or a poorly trained officer. He had just been in a car that was struck twice, and he was trying to shoot a guy (Guzman... don't let anyone lie to you by saying 50 shots were fired at Bell) through a moving vehicle. Nobody's robocop, and I strongly doubt that anyone else in Oliver's situation would have fired less bullets.
Cooper shot 4 rounds, and was charged with reckless endangerment because of where a bullet wound up when it ricocheted.
Another officer fired 3 rounds. He was not charged.
Another officer fired 1 round. He was not charged.
The testimony of the prosecution was weak, full of inconsistencies, denying previous statements, and fabrications.
Given all that's available to be read, I'm certain that the judge gave the right verdict.
The NYPD may have its fair share of police brutality, excessive force, mishaps, etc...
This was not one of those moments.
Had Guzman not said he was going to get a gun (since there was no gun in the car, it makes sense that he either gave the impression that there was one for the sake of seeming tough in front of the guy Bell was fighting with outside the club, or that he was going to go home to get his gun and return)... Bell would be alive today.
If Bell had not driven into the van a second time, but instead turned left, he would still be alive today.
