Groom-Slaying Cops Face Disciplinary Hearings

The New York cops who were acquitted last month after firing more than 50 bullets at an unarmed man on his wedding day will face police department disciplinary action, Reuters reports. Seven officers are on the hot seat, including the three who were cleared of criminal charges last month, and will now face internal charges mirroring those, an NYPD spokesman said yesterday. Also being called to task are one other shooter, two crime scene detectives, and their commanding officer.

Reverend Al Sharpton, who has been staunchly critical of the criminal acquittal, called the hearings “a step in the right direction,” but said the men should be fired. “There must be no tolerance for crime but also no tolerance for police misconduct and the New York Police Department must send a strong, firm signal that that is the case,” he said. (More Sean Bell stories.)