Black and White Perspectives on an NYPD Shooting

The NYPD shooting of 3 unarmed Black men, in Queens, New York, has received national attention because one of the men, Sean Bell, was murdered by the police officers just hours before he was scheduled to marry his high school sweetheart.

Since the shooting, last week, New York has erupted and split—largely along racial lines. White and other New Yorkers are saying things like “let’s be patient before making a judgment” and “why were the men engaging in illicit behavior, such as going to a strip club in a drug neighborhood?” and “the cops had a right to be suspicious” and, of course, there’s a chorus chanting that Blacks and Black community leaders are doing nothing except engaging in “race-baiting.”

On the flip side, the Black community and leadership are wondering how police could shoot at unarmed men 50 times, question why such a “tragic accident” never seems to happen in White communities, and assert that the “tragic accident” was a result of the NYPD racially profiling the Black men.

White New Yorkers—and many in the media—keep trying to spin the story so that the 3 unarmed men are at fault for the shooting incident. Every day we hear more and more about the “lengthy rap sheet” that the 3 men allegedly had. These things are said as if they change the fact that none of the men had a gun and none of the men, therefore, pulled a weapon or fired a gun at the police officers.

Many “average” White New Yorkers don’t seem to be asking the right questions. Instead of wondering what 3 men at a bachelor party were doing at a strip club, they should be wondering:

-- Why did an undercover police officer blow his own cover, by following the men closely (on foot) and then jumping in front of their vehicle with his gun drawn? Why didn’t he call for plainclothes police officers to move in and question/apprehend the 3 men, as is standard police procedure? Why did the officer decide to go commando, playing lone ranger with the lives of 3 unarmed citizens?

-- Why did a prostitution sting (a non-violent crime investigation) end up with 3 shooting victims, including one man murdered?

-- Did the fact that the NYPD were ONE ARREST away from shutting down this strip club cause cops to be overzealous in finding a person to arrest that night? It was 4 a.m., so were they just ready to call it a night and bring the investigation of the club to an end?


-- When exactly did the officer announce he was an NYPD detective? Did he approach the men’s vehicle, on a dark morning, with a gun drawn—assuming they could see his badge, if his badge was showing? Did he appear to be a “thug,” who was about to shoot them, instead of a police officer?

-- Did the men have their windows rolled down on the car? Could they hear anything said by the officer, if he said anything? Was their radio playing?

There are many other questions that surround that evening. Unfortunately, many White New Yorkers want to give police the benefit of the doubt because the victims were 3 “hoods” with prior criminal records. But, the cops didn’t know they had records when they open-fired. Still, it’s enough to make many White New Yorkers think “those Black guys may have had it coming to them!”