NEW YORKûRev. Al Sharpton met with a congressional delegation after a weekend of rallying and protesting following the April 25 Sean Bell police killing verdict. The next step: strategic planning and federal charges. The verdict acquitting all three NYPD
The seven-member delegation included Rep. John Conyers from Michigan, Rep. Charles Rangel and Congressman Gregory Meeks. The group of congressional leaders, along with Sharpton, Nicole Paultre-Bell and the Bell family, came together to discuss the launch of a federal investigation into whether New York police officers violated the civil rights of Sean Bell. The meeting took place at Meeks’ offices in Queens.
Afterward, the delegation went to Club Kalua, where Bell was killed. Sharpton said he plans to write a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his assistant for civil rights, looking to meet with the two. He also criticized local elected officials who have not spoken out about the verdict, warning an act of citywide civil disobedience.
Conyers, who serves as chairman of the House of Judiciary Committee, met with the Bell’s family on Monday following the verdict. At a press conference following the meeting, Conyers said, “We’re going to end police brutality everywhere.” He is talking with the attorney general of the United States and said that his committee plans to have its own hearing.
Also visiting the site where Bell was killed, Conyers is lobbying for the U.S. Department of Justice to bring federal charges against the three police officers who were found not guilty in the 50-shot killing of Sean Bell. Reports indicate that a consultant to the Detectives Endowment Association, the group in support of the three acquitted officers, approached Conyers looking to tell their side of the story.
Comptroller Bill Thompson was in attendance at the meeting and said in a statement that he was “shocked and disappointed” by the verdict and that the meeting with Conyers was a step forward in the right direction.
He said, “I was proud to stand with Chairman Conyers, Chairman Rangel, Congressman Meeks and other public officials to announce our joint efforts to seek federal recourse and am hopeful that the Justice Department’s review of the case will be thorough and objective and finally provide justice to the Bell family and the other victims of this tragic incident.”
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