14 years ago Sean Bell died at the hands of police

November 25 marked 14 years when 23-year-old Sean Bell died at the hands of police.

Sean Bell died at the hands of the police

Leaving a strip club in Queens with friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benfield as part of a bachelor’s party, NYPD fired 50 shots at the group. Fewer than half hit the intended targets.

An unarmed Bell suffered gunshot wounds to the neck and arm. Doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Police gunfire hit Joseph Guzman 11 times and left him in critical condition, while it left Trent Benefield in stable condition.

Officers shackled both men to their hospital beds, a decision that drew immediate outcry from activists.

The police claimed to have overheard one of three men mention a gun while they were leaving the strip club following an alleged argument. A weapon was not found.

Three of the five detectives involved in the shooting went to trial on charges of:

• first and second-degree manslaughter
• first and second-degree assault, and
• second-degree reckless endangerment.

The officers were found not guilty

In 2010, the city agreed to pay in total $7 million to:

• Sean Bell’s estate
• Guzman
• Benefield

as part of a federal lawsuit filed.

“Thirteen years after Sean’s death the pain hasn’t subsided. I’m still seeking solace following so many unanswered questions about a criminal justice system that failed our daughters and took away their father,” said Bell in a statement last year. “With the negligence, the assault, the civil rights violations, and the egregious misconduct all pointing to guilt, the police officers are still acquitted.”