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More Rallies in Response Verdict in Sean Bell Shooting

WNYC Newsroom

NEW YORK, NY April 27, 2008 —Protesters will gather again today to express their anger over the acquittals of three police detectives involved in the Sean Bell shooting.

REPORTER: Saturday, marchers in Harlem carried white placards with big black numbers, each referring to one of the police bullets fired at Sean Bell and his two friends. Demonstrator Michael Pereria says Justice Arthur Cooperman's ruling Friday leaves people like him at risk:

PERERIA: As a black man, 25 years old -- and Sean Bell is obviously my peer -- I feel like I can be put in the same situation any day.

REPORTER: Undercover detectives fired 50 bullets at Bell's car outside a strip club in Queens in November of 2006, killing the would-be bridegroom and wounding two of his friends.

The Reverend Al Sharpton, who's been leading the protest marches, is calling for a federal civil rights prosecution. Sharpton plans to meet tomorrow with Michigan Congressman John Conyers, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee. The Justice Department says it's investigating the case.



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