City of New York settles for $7.15M in Sean Bell shooting

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On Tuesday, the city of New York agreed to pay more than $7M to settle a wrongful death civil lawsuit filed by the fiance’ and friends of Sean Bell, who was unarmed when gunned down by undercover New York police officers on his wedding day.

Sean Bell lawsuit

The settlement ends a four-year legal battle by Bell’s finance’ Nicole Paultre-Bell and two men wounded when 50 rounds were fired at Bell’s car that fateful night.

Under the agreement, the city will pay Paultre $3.25million. Bell’s friend’s who were in the car with him that night, Joseph Guzman, 35 will receive $3M and Trent Benefield, 27, will receive 900,000.

Guzman and Benefield were both wounded in the hail of police gunfire outside the Club Kalua strip club in Queens on Nov. 25, 2006, just hours before Bell was to get married.

Detectives Michael Oliver, Marc Cooper and Gescard Isnora were all acquitted at trial 2008 of criminal charges stemming from the Bell shooting.

The cops fired on Bell’s car after mistakenly believing someone inside had a gun and that Bell was trying to run them down.

NYPD officers involved

The NYPD still has not decided whether to discipline a total of five officers involved in the shooting.

Federal Magistrate Roanne Mann signed off on the settlement during a closed door meeting with attorneys representing the city, Paultre Bell and the two shooting survivors.

Detectives union President Michael Palladino called the settlement “an absolute joke.”

“The police were there doing their lawful duty. Bell was intoxicated and tried to run them over,” Palladino said. “The taxpayers are now on the hook for $7 million. There’s something seriously wrong with that picture.”