Arrest of Sean Bell’s Friend May Change Case Against Police

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The New York Sun

An arrest yesterday could affect the outcome of a court case against three police officers in the Sean Bell shooting.

Trent Benefield, who was wounded during a police shooting last year that killed Bell, was arrested after plainclothes police officers witnessed him strike his girlfriend, Nyla Page-Walthrus, in the Jamaica section of Queens, police officials said.

The arrest could affect the jury’s evaluation of Mr. Benefield’s credibility if he is called as a witness in the prosecution of the three police detectives who are being charged in connection to the death of Bell, several legal experts said.

Mr. Benefield, 24, was sitting in a vehicle on 147th Street at about 9:30 p.m. when he punched Ms. Page-Walthrus, who stood outside, in the face through an open window, according to charges filed in Queens Criminal Court. He then struck her with the car door as he exited the vehicle, slapped her head, grabbed her by the throat, and shoved her twice in the chest, according to the charges.

“I’m not surprised by the arrest,” the president of New York City’s Detectives Endowment Association, Michael Palladino said. “He has a history of criminal behavior, and obviously it’s going to continue.”

Prosecutors are charging Mr. Benefield with third-degree attempted assault and second-degree harassment, among other charges.

In November 2006, Mr. Benefield and another man, Joseph Guzman, were celebrating Bell’s bachelor party at the Kalua Cabaret in the Jamaica section of Queens before police, who falsely believed they were armed, allegedly shot at them 50 times.

Three of the officers involved in the incident were indicted by a grand jury and face criminal charges in the shooting.


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