Witness casts doubt on NYPD shooting account

updated 6:28 p.m. ET Nov. 27, 2006

Nov. 27 - A witness surfaced Monday who casts doubt on a police account of why officers fired a hail of 50 bullets at three unarmed men, killing one on his wedding day.

A female dancer at a Queens, N.Y. topless club told investigators that it was the police who rammed the car the young men were in, not the other way around.

Trini Wright told the New York Daily News the officers "jumped out shooting…there was no 'Stop.' No 'freeze.' No nothing."

The Rev. Al Sharpton led a crowd at a vigil and rally late Sunday to demand answers about the flurry of bullets police fired early Saturday that killed 23-year-old Sean Bell. He was to marry his high-school sweetheart and mother of his two young children that day.

The officers were undercover, investigating weapons and prostitution complaints at the club when a large group of men started arguing. Police say the men were in a car that twice rammed a police vehicle.

A grand jury investigation has been initiated, but it could take some time before the NYPD can interview the officers who fired their weapons.

The five officers involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave and stripped of their guns, a NYPD spokesman said. Police and prosecutors promised a full investigation.

MORE FROM RACE & ETHNICITY

Race & ethnicity Section Front

CBS censors racial slurs on ‘Big Brother’ Obama: Racial divisions still persist Va. newspaper regrets backing segregation Study: 1 in 3 black Americans is obese The Grio: A healthier Southern culture Philly police sued over alleged racist posts Cemetery's jumbled bones hard to ID Sotomayor speeds toward confirmation Black-white education gap persists Race & ethnicity Section Front   Add Race & ethnicity headlines to your news reader: