Justice served in Sean Bell shooting case

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But why fire so many times?
The question becomes, why fire so many times? What were officers thinking? Did they panic or overreact? Were they in fear for their safety? Did they violate police policy and procedure? Did they commit manslaughter?

The officers thought they were justified in using deadly force believing they were in mortal danger. In order for the officers’ use of force to be justified, they would have had to reasonably believe deadly force was about to be used against them, in other words, that someone had a gun and was about to use it. But no weapon was recovered from the scene and it appears that no one was armed. Even if it turns out the police were mistaken, if their belief at the time was reasonable that someone was armed and was about to shoot, they were justified in firing.

But why so many times? Because officers are not trained to shoot to wound, they are trained to shoot to kill.

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Interestingly, of the five officers involved in the shooting, according to police sources, none have ever discharged their weapons while on duty.

The deceased had been arrested three times, twice for drugs and once for a gun. The second victim had nine arrests including one for armed robbery. The third has a juvenile record, sealed, but according to the New York Post, it is for gun possession and robbery. Their records alone clearly do not justify the excessive use of force. But if those records were known to law enforcement, it may have reinforced the belief that the men were armed and about to fire.

I believe that the district attorney’s office conducted a thorough, fair, honest, and dispassionate investigation and prosecution.

I also believe that law enforcement must review this incident and respond accordingly and appropriately without prejudice or favor in terms of training and procedure.

And I believe that even though the officers cannot yet express their remorse, they are saddened by this incident and by Sean Bell’s death. No officer ever wants to take a life, even when the shooting is justified. Clearly, even if mistakes were made, the officers did not engage in deliberate and intentional misconduct. I know they grieve.

No one 'won'
Law enforcement is a difficult and dangerous job. The stress of putting one’s life on the line every day must take its toll. While New Yorkers deserve to be served and protected by NYPD’s finest, New Yorkers also need to know that NYPD will not condone, enable or tolerate any unlawful shooting by law enforcement. Police officers must always act lawfully and appropriately, must always help not hurt, must always serve and protect, and can never shoot to kill unlawfully or inappropriately.

Fifty shots sounds like an awful lot of shots fired, but a judge heard all the evidence in this case and found reasonable doubt. The state did not prove its case and the officers were acquitted. This case does not come down to a license to legally murder if you are a cop, or a racist judgment that if the race of the victims were different, the verdict would have been different.

I think this case comes down to the simple bare fact that the state did not meet its burden of proof. This case was decided with reason, based on facts and evidence, not on color, either black or NYPD Blue.

Whatever the outcome of this trial, no one would have “won.”

A groom was shot dead hours before he was to wed his high school sweetheart, his bride’s heart was broken, and two children lost their father. And these officers’ lives are irrevocably marred by their action and reaction that dangerous night in the line of duty.

It was a tough case. It was a tough call. It is a tough verdict. But I think it is fair. I do believe justice was served.

Susan F. Filan, Esq. is an MSNBC senior legal analyst. Prior to joining MSNBC, Filan worked as a prosecutor and trial lawyer for the state of Connecticut.