Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Queens Shooting: Fiancee Takes Sean Bell's Name
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 8, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 8, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The fiancee of Sean Bell officially changed her surname to "Bell". Nicole Paultre was supposed to marry Bell on November 25, but Bell was killed when police opened fire on him and two friends after his bachelor party. Paultre revealed that a civil court judge signed an order for Paultre to change her name to Nicole Paultre Bell in an exclusive interview with Essence.com.
ESSENCE: How does it feel to suddenly become the face of the police brutality issue?
Nicole: I don’t think it’s really hit me. I see these things on TV, and we all know it’s wrong, but I never thought it would hit home in my life. I get a lot of support from strangers, and my family is 100 percent there for me. Famous people that I never thought I’d meet have contacted me through my attorney Sanford Rubenstein and Al Sharpton. I talked to Spike Lee just the other night. Hillary Clinton—I spoke with her and Mayor Bloomberg. Everyone sends their condolences and love. It’s very comforting to know that people care, people that don’t even know him. It helps. They give me strength. I also find strength in church and God.
ESSENCE: Many people were surprised to hear you say in the Larry King interview that you’re not angry. Can you explain?
Nicole: I’m not angry with the entire department. It’s not the department that did this. It’s those five police officers; it’s them that need to be held accountable. A lot of people ask me about my saying I’m not angry, but they don’t understand that I have to focus my energy on other things besides anger.
Paultre's lawyer revealed that the wedding rings Bell had in the car were retrieved with the help of the Queens DA's office (Bell was buried with his ring, Paultre wears hers).
am New York had some thought-provoking statistics about police shootings: In NYC, 11 people (including Sean Bell) were killed (and 31 people have been hit by police bullets); the NYPD has 35,000 officers. And that's lower than in Las Vegas, where 12 people were killed by the 2,100-officer LVPD and in Philadelphia, where 19 people have been killed (the PPD has 6,600 officers). While the statistics show that police shootings are steady, it would be helpful and more enlightening for the NYPD to reveal how many times the police have fired their weapons.
More:
- The NY Sun has an extensive article about Bell and his life beyond the night of November 25; for instance, he was once a top-ranked high school baseball player in the North East and met Mayor Giuliani in 1999.
- The NYPD has turned over the ballistics report to the Queens DA's office.
- And one of the witnesses to the shooting was arrested for disorderly conduct. Lorenzo Kinred was later released, but his lawyer criticized the police for being uncooperative as Kinred was being processed.
Photograph of the makeshift memorial outside the Kalua Lounge where the shooting took place by Adam Rountree/AP
Tagged
Adam Rountree
al sharpton
baseball
bloomberg
church
clinton
court
fire
friends
giuliani
high school
hillary clinton
In NYC
interview
larry king
las vegas
love
mayor
mayor bloomberg
mayor giuliani
new york
Nicole Paultre
North East
ny sun
nyc
nypd
people
philadelphia
police
queens
queens da
Queens Shooting
sanford rubenstein
sean bell
shooting
spike lee
The NY
The NY Sun
The NYPD
The Police
tv
vegas
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .