“We are all Sean Bell - NYPD go to hell”

This is the phrase that dominated Friday night’s protest of the acquittal of the three police officers who shot Sean Bell.

Hundreds of people turned up outside the Queens County District Attorney’s office in Kew Gardens, Queens to voice their opinion on the verdict and to stand up for justice:

50 was a number that was on everyone’s mind. 50 shots equals murder, protestors shouted, then giving way to repeated counts from one to fifty.

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The Sean Bell verdict has provoked outrage and action, as Gina blogged. Tonight, you can learn about police brutality and by attending a screening of Every Mother’s Son, Tami Gold’s award-winning documentary about the mothers of three victims of police brutality whose stories made headlines around the country: Amadou Diallo, the young West African man whose killing sparked intense public protest; Anthony Baez, killed in an illegal choke-hold; and Gary (Gidone) Busch, a Hasidic Jew shot and killed outside his Brooklyn home. The film follows the victims’ three mothers as they come together to demand justice and accountability. The film won the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award and was nominated for an Emmy. And it was chosen to be part of National Video Resources’ Human Rights Video Project, a national library project created to increase the public’s awareness of human rights issues through the medium of documentary films. The screening and discussion is part of the Culture Project’s Women Center Stage Festival and is at 6PM @ The Puffin Room @ 435 Broome Street. Order tickets or buy them at the door tonight at the The Puffin Room.

The cops that shot Sean Bell 50 times were acquitted today in NYC. If you live here you’ve probably have been following the case in at least some way - if you’ve never heard of Sean Bell you should definitely start looking into it.

Instead of sharing my own opinions on the verdict I just wanted to let folks know about the entire incident and also that there is going to be a protest tonight - if you’re outraged you should go and make a difference:

JUSTICE FOR SEAN BELL AND ALL VICTIMS OF POLICE VIOLENCE!! COME OUT APRIL 25^th - VOICE YOUR OUTRAGE!!

In Nov. 2006, Sean Bell was murdered by the NYPD in a hail of 50 bullets. His friends - Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman - were seriously injured. 3 of the officers involved were acquitted of all charges in a bold affront to the human rights of Sean Bell and all of us.

PEOPLES JUSTICE for Community Control and Police Accountability is calling for a rally and community speak-out in front of the Queens DA’s office ON THIS DAY*.

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