Three detectives were acquitted this morning in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell in November 2006.

In a packed courtroom in Queens State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens, Judge Arthur Cooperman ruled that the detectives -- Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper -- bore no criminal responsibility for Bell's death or the wounding of his two friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman.

Two of the three New York Police Department detectives involved in the shooting death of the unarmed Bell, who was killed in a hail of gunfire outside a Jamaica club just hours before he was to be married in 2006, had faced a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.

As word filtered out moments after 9:15 a.m., people in the large crowd outside the courthouse began to shout and scream.

"They're saying not guilty, sisters and brothers," yelled Carl Dix, 59, of Brooklyn. "That is intolerable!"

The three undercover detectives charged in the case elected to have a judge decide their fate, rather than a jury.

The trial of the officers resulted in seven weeks of often-conflicting testimonies about the death of Bell, 23, who was killed in a 50-bullet barrage outside the Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica in the early morning of Nov. 25, 2006.

Guzman and Benefield were shot and injured.

Oliver, 36, fired at the car Bell was in 31 times. Isnora, 29, fired 11 times, Cooper, 40, fired four. Police have said that during their undercover investigation of the Queens strip club, the officers believed someone in the group with Bell had gone to the car to get a gun.

During the trial Isnora testified that following a dispute between patrons, he heard Guzman say: "Yo, go get my gun."

The officers claimed they only began shooting after Bell bumped Isnora, who had identified himself as a officer, with his car -- slamming him into an unmarked police van.

But Guzman and Benefield testified they were unaware police had been watching them --and said the gunfire erupted without any warning.

No weapon was ever found.

Oliver and Isnora had faced felony first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges, as well as assault and reckless endangerment, and were eligible to get 25 years in state prison if they had been convicted.

Cooper faced a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge.

If Oliver and Isnora had been convicted of felonies stemming from the incident, they faced not only the immediate loss of their jobs but also their police pensions.

City officials, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have downplayed the potential for demonstrations and conflicts in the wake of the verdict announcement.

Bloomberg said that while the NYPD and other agencies will be prepared to handle potential demonstrations, he believes there will be no violence.

A bevy of news conferences will greet the verdict.

The Rev. Al Sharpton planned a conference outside the Queens Boulevard courthouse with members of Bell's family.

via newsday.com

In the end, all of the protesting, speeches, rallies and marches proved to be no match for the NYPD - the biggest gang in New York.

Now what?