This piece appeared in the San Francisco BayView newspaper back in December. For those of you poutside of the Bay Area, here's what the community had to say at Sean Bell's funeral back in December.

A bride-to-be is heartbroken. The community is outraged. The city is up against the ropes in responding to the most publicized case of police brutality since the shooting of Amadou Diallo in 1999.

Brother Sean Bell was celebrated at the Community Church of Christ in Jamaica, Queens on Friday evening December 1, 2006 amidst a cold rain and a day of heartbreak for his family and friends. Sean was only 23 years old when he was gunned down in a hail of 50 shots by undercover detectives of the NYPD after his bachelor party at Club Kalua on Thanksgiving weekend.

Two other men, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman were also shot that night and were in the car with Bell. Benefield was shot 3 times and Guzman had 17 wounds to his body alone. Bell was hit 3 times and was pronounced dead on arrival at Jamaica Hospital. The other two men were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. As of this writing, Trent Benefield was released from the hospital on Tuesday December 5.

We've all heard about the heartbreaking story about the fact that Sean was about to get married to his Queen, Nicole Paultrie, his high school sweetheart and the mother of his two beautiful daughters Jordan and Jada. We know that community leaders and dignitaries alike have promised the family they will monitor the case and get justice. However, what do the people of this community REALLY have to say about this whole thing? Well, yours truly was on the scene Friday night and I found out some of their thoughts and perspectives on the situation and what they feel should be done now.

In speaking with some of the brothers and sisters on the scene, some of whom were able to view the body during the wake before the family arrived at the church, they told me that there were Detectives and reporters galore searching all over the various housing projects in the area where Sean lived to question any young Black man about what happened that night. Detectives were concluding that there was a 4th man in the car that night. According to the two men who were in the car with Sean, there was no 4th person in the car.

They also stated to me statements such as "If the cops started to shoot down White boys the way they shoot us and harass us, maybe there will be some changes within the police department." "If there was a 4th man, why wasn't he chased?" In describing Sean, they said, "He was a regular guy doing the right thing by marrying Nicole. If he weren't about to get married and it wasn't 50 shots, he would have been another brother shot by the police and no one would have known." One brother told me that one of his friends was stopped by the police, they searched his car, pulled out a weapon and drove away as if nothing happened. He also said the police have been known to steal everything from watches to jewelry to drugs from them. This sounds like what the people of BayView Hunters Point, the South side of Chicago, North Philadelphia, and Oakland go through everyday huh? It certainly does.

Inside the funeral, Reverend Herbert Daughtry spoke clearly when he said "Let this be the last time we have to tend to a tragedy like this." State Senator Malcolm Smith told the people that he will ensure that the young brothers experiencing harassment about this whole thing will not be harassed anymore. A woman who listened to the service outside with the rest of the community witnessed a young brother who was handcuffed and taken into a police car and questioned about the situation. Congressman Gregory Meeks had a special flag flying over the Capitol building in honor of what happened to Sean Bell because in his words, "America must remember Sean Bell."

Following the funeral, the family was escorted out of the church when the masses began to shout chants like No Justice No Peace and N-Y-P-D P-I-G. Although the family did not want a rally outside the funeral, the masses truly showed their love and support for them and this entire situation. The family raised their fists in solidarity thanking the crowd outside for their outpouring of love and support.

The following day, the family buried Sean at a cemetery on Long Island. During that ceremony, Nicole, the beautiful bride-to-be, wore her wedding ring and had Sean buried with his wedding ring on to show their everlasting love for each other. Their love will truly last forever.

JUSTICE FOR SEAN BELL! ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

If you would like to make a donation to the family or send toys to the children of Sean Bell, please send it to:

Community Church of Christ
Attn: Bishop Lester Williams
167-04 108th Ave
Jamaica, NY 11433