NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss the charges against three police officers in the shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day.
State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman denied the motion on Friday by lawyers for Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Mark Cooper.
Oliver and Isnora have been indicted on manslaughter charges, and Cooper is charged with reckless endangerment. All three have pleaded not guilty.
Sean Bell, 23, was gunned down on Nov. 25, 2006, just hours before his wedding, as he left his bachelor party. The officers were conducting an undercover operation into alleged prostitution at the Kalua Cabaret in Queens, where the party was held.
According to police union officials and defense lawyers, the undercover officers believed Bell and his friends were going to get a gun. The officers started shooting after a car lurched forward, bumped Isnora and slammed into an unmarked police minivan, authorities said.
Isnora, through his attorney, said he pulled his gun and identified himself as a police officer before spotting one of the men inside the car making a suspicious move.
Isnora squeezed off 11 shots, Cooper fired four times and Oliver fired 31 shots, including the one that killed Bell.
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