Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
City Council Puts Police Commissioner in the Hot Seat
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 25, 2007
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 Jan 25, 2007
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 City Council questioned Police Commissioner Ray Kelly about NYPD tactics in the wake of the fatal shooting of Sean Bell. The Council was aggressive and straightforward; for instance, Councilman David Yassky said , "Too many African-American New Yorkers feel that they are at risk or that their family members are at risk of mistreatment, whether it be to be stopped without reason or to be victimized by excessive force."
Councilman Charles Barron asked Kelly to resign: "I ask that you do the graceful thing and resign; I say that because you have allowed this to happen." In fact, Kelly and Barron got into a heated exchange. From the Daily News:
Kelly bristled as Barron blasted the NYPD's recent decision to suspend a white cop for 30 days as punishment for the 2004 fatal shooting of Timothy Stansbury, an unarmed black teenager.
Stansbury's death was ruled an accident, but yesterday Barron seethed, "It was a cold-blooded killing."
That accusation prompted Kelly to fume, "Oh, come on, come on! How do you know that?"
Barron, a former Black Panther, refused to back down, saying incidents like the Stansbury and Bell shootings are "why people disrespect and don't trust the police force."
"There's no doubt that you'll never trust the police force," Kelly responded.
Commissioner Kelly refuted claims that the NYPD used racially profiling, saying, "Officers are stopping those they reasonably suspect of committing a crime, based on descriptions and circumstances, and not on personal bias." He also noted how diverse NYPD recruiting has become. The NY Sun reported Councilwoman Helen Foster said, "This is real. So when you say that this is not racially motivated … it doesn't matter because you're not the person being racially profiled." This hearing was the first of three scheduled hearings to discuss NYPD practices.
And Joseph Guzman, one of two friends in the car with Bell during the shooting, was finally released from Jamaica Hospital. He had been in the hospital since the November shooting and still has six bullets in him.
Guzman, wearing a hoodie with "Sean Bell" written on it, said that when they were approached by the undercover police that night, they thought they were being robbed. "I don't hate the police. We need the police to make things right. But what they did that night was murder....I’m not anti-police; I don’t believe all police are bad. But the police that night were wrong. They committed a crime. Let them be accountable for it."
Photograph of Joseph Guzman being helped by friends like the Reverend Al Sharpton by Frank Franklin II
Tagged
al sharpton
black panther
Charles Barron
city
City Council
commissioner kelly
commissioner ray kelly
Councilman Charles Barron
Councilman David Yassky
crime
daily news
david
david yassky
death
Frank Franklin
Frank Franklin II
friends
hospital
Jamaica hospital
joseph guzman
murder
new yorkers
news
News: NYC
ny sun
nypd
people
police
police commissioner
police commissioner ray kelly
Ray Kelly
Reverend Al
reverend al sharpton
sean bell
shooting
the city
The City Council
The Council
The NY
The NY Sun
The Police
Timothy Stansbury
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 .