NYC faces protests in Bell verdict

NEW YORK, April 26 (UPI) -- The fiancee of Sean Bell said Saturday she will lead marches in New York to protest the acquittal of police detectives who shot him to death.

Nicole Paultre Bell, at a public appearance Saturday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, spoke for the first time since New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman ruled that three NYPD detectives bore no criminal responsibility for Sean Bell's death or the wounding of two of his friends in a barrage of police gunfire outside a club in Queens.

"Every march, every rally, I'm going to be right up front," Paultre Bell said. "The justice system let me down."

She said the acquittal felt as though "they killed Sean all over again," the New York Daily News reported.

Sharpton said there would be a citywide demonstration within two weeks, the newspaper reported.

"They've shown they will not hold the police responsible," Sharpton said. "Well guess what? If you won't, we will."

Sharpton promised a peaceful protest, saying "anyone who can't control themselves can't be a part of this movement."

The U.S. Justice Department said Friday it would review the 2006 killing, just hours before the couple were to be married.