Wounded men dispute police account of 50-shot incident

Wounded men dispute police account of 50-shot incidentBY ROCCO PARASCANDOLANewsday Staff WriterDecember 6, 2006
Trent Benefield said he thought he "was going to die" when an undercover detective opened fire on a car outside a Jamaica strip club, killing bridegroom Sean Bell.Benefield, who along with friend Joseph Guzman survived the police shooting that killed Bell on his wedding day, spoke out for the first time, telling a television reporter he had no idea the shooter was a detective -- a claim he and Guzman had previously made through their lawyers.
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"My friend's dead," Benefield, 23, told a reporter from NY1 in an exclusive interview. "Everyone's shot up. I'm shot up. We need justice. I don't want nobody to go through this."It was the first direct public comment Benefield has made about the incident since he was rushed to Mary Immaculate Hospital in the early morning hours of Nov. 25.Tuesday, sitting in a wheelchair, Benefield left the hospital without speaking for a meeting with his attorney.His release came as the New York Police Department braced for a rally outside police headquarters this afternoon by protesters angry that five officers fired 50 shots at the car. Guzman, 31, who was struck 13 times, mostly on the side of his body, is in stable condition at the same hospital and remained hospitalized as of Tuesday.Much about the fatal confrontation remains unclear as the Queens district attorney prepares to present the case to a grand jury.Police officials said they are not sure how big a crowd to expect at the rally, but several police sources say the NYPD is girding for at least several hundred protesters. Benefield attended a meeting where people were organizing today's rally and thanked the Rev. Al Sharpton for his support.The rally, officially titled "Resist Fascism and the Rise of the American Police State," is being held by the December 12th Movement, a Brooklyn-based group that campaigns against civil rights violations for black people and has pushed for slavery reparations. A number of those not connected to the group, including members of Bell's family, are expected to attend.Protests thus far have focused on what critics of the police department say is the systematic targeting and harassment of young black men.The five cops who fired their weapons are black, white and Hispanic.It was Guzman's statement that he was going to get a gun, police said, that prompted the undercover detective to follow Bell, 23, and Benefield out of Kalua Cabaret after Bell's bachelor party.As Bell got behind the wheel of his Altima the detective identified himself, but Bell hit the gas, striking the detective and twice hitting an unmarked police van as the detective and four colleagues opened fire, police said.Guzman and Beteman -- who was shot in both legs -- have claimed they thought they were being carjacked and that the detective never identified himself. They also repeatedly said through their attorney that there was never a fourth person, as police insist.When asked yesterday by NY1 whether there was a fourth man -- who might have been armed and fled the club after the shooting -- Benefield said no. "No fourth man," he told the reporter.The five cops who fired their weapons have been stripped of their guns and placed on administrative duty. Bell, Beteman and Guzman were at the club, unaware that it was being investigated by police for drugs and prostitution.Each of the shooting victims has a criminal record, and Bell had recently made at least one drug sale to an undercover officer, sources said. He was still under investigation at the time of his death.Community activists Tuesday were also calling for a march for justice on Dec. 16.