14 years ago Sean Bell died at the hands of police

November 25, 2006 marked 14 years when 23-year-old Sean Bell died at the hands of police, a day before his wedding.

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 but fewer than half hit the intended targets. An unarmed Bell was struck in the neck and arm and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Joseph Guzman was left in critical condition after being hit 11 times and Trent Benefield in stable condition.

The two were shackled to their beds by police drawing 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, but no weapon was ever 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, and Benefield as part of a federal lawsuit filed.

“Thirteen years after Sean’s death the pain hasn’t subsided and 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.”