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Four years after a shooting left an unarmed Sean Bell dead (on the eve of his wedding) and two of his friends wounded following a tragic incident with New York City police, the city has agreed to pay $7 million dollars to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Bell's family and his friends.
According to The New York Times, in the early hours of November 25, 2006, five New York City police officers fired 50 shots into the car Bell — who was to be married that day — was driving outside a club in Queens, New York. The car reportedly struck a detective in the leg and hit a police van before the officers began firing. None of the three men in the car — Bell and his friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield — were armed, although the officers apparently believed at least one was.
In what's seen as the closing chapter in one of the most controversial police shootings in New York City history — three officers were acquitted of manslaughter and reckless-endangerment charges in 2008, a ruling many activists and rappers spoke out against — the families of the victims are looking to move past the tragedy.
As part of the settlement, Bell's two young daughters (whom he had with his fiancée, Nicole Paultre Bell) will receive $3.25 million; Guzman (who was shot 17 times) and Trent Benefield will receive $3 million and $900,000 respectively, according to Times.
Earlier this week, Foxy Brown — a close friend of Bell's fiancée — said Paultre Bell is a strong woman who remained in high spirits throughout the four-year ordeal.
"She just handled everything so gracefully," Brown said. "She just did everything with grace and class."
G-Unit member Tony Yayo, whose G-Unity foundation gave proceeds from a recent event to Bell's family, said the settlement is long overdue.
"I think it's a beautiful thing, but rest in peace to Sean Bell," Yayo said. "I mean, you have times now when a police officer can shoot you in your back, handcuffed on the floor, in a train station in front of everybody and get two years," Yayo said, referring to the Oscar Grant shooting in Oakland, California, in which found a transit officer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month. "So Sean Bell's people deserve that money, definitely, and blessings to them."
Source: MTV
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Audio After The Jump
Gloria Velez considers herself a pioneer for female Latina's in the business. In this interview with MajorMovesDVD she talks about her aspirations to be the first Latina rapper to break the platinum sales mark in hip hop.
She also takes time to clown Nicki Minaj again. Glo went in on Nicki over Young Money's "Roger That" beat a few months ago, now she's added Drake to her list of targets
"I actually agree with Lil Kim, like I said in my rhymes," Gloria says. "In the beginning Nicki was trying to be Lil Kim with the pictures, the spreading the legs, mimicking Fox [Foxy Brown]. Trying to rap reggae, certain slang the way Fox said it. Kim definitely paved the way for females and Nicki Minaj should give her props. And I think that was a bitch ass move for Drake to even get into female business. That's some bitch ass sh*t, come on dude are you serious, like is the p*ssy that good?"
Glo says there is no way Nicki Minaj will go gold on her debut album and calls Keys corny and ugly.
Interesting stuff, let's see if Nicki or Keys fires back
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