‘No Fourth Man,’ Victim of Police Shooting Claims After Leaving Hospital in Queens

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The New York Sun

One of the men who survived a recent police shooting incident left the hospital yesterday, in time to join lawmakers and activists who convened last night to coordinate the latest response to the shooting, which left one man dead.

During his brief appearance, Trent Benefield, 23, addressed more than 100 elected officials and community leaders invited by the Reverend Al Sharpton to a summit last night. “All I’d like to say is, I thank Al Sharpton, the community, the community leaders for sticking by me,” he said, before breaking down into tears. The 23-year-old was wheeled into the room by his mother, Tenise Ford, left Mary Immaculate Hospital yesterday afternoon after being shot in both legs. At the meeting last night, he did not answer questions about the shooting, although earlier in the day he told NY1 there was no fourth man in the car the night of Sean Bell’s death. “No fourth man,” he said.

After the meeting, Rev. Sharpton called the victim’s appearance a “graphic example”of why he called the meeting. “The consensus is, we’ve got to stop police misconduct. We cannot go on with business as usual,” he said.

The meeting, which took place at the union headquarters of Local 1199, of which Bell’s mother is a member, attracted a range of individuals who have been vocal in criticizing the shooting. Bell, 23, was shot by police on November 25 outside the Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica, Queens, in a hail of 50 bullets.

Before the meeting, those who have been critical of the police shooting said they hoped to develop a unified response to continued fallout from the shooting. “Some of us have gone around this carousel for many, many years,” the pastor of the House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn, the Reverend Herbert Daughtry, said. “What we need as much as possible is a united, collective approach toward whatever it is we decide to do.”

After the invitation-only meeting, the group announced two points of agreement, including drawing up an itemized plan for improving police-community relations. They also announced they would mobilize on December 16 for a march down Fifth Avenue.

At the same time, members of the City Council who attended — including Charles Barron, Hiram Monserrate, John Liu, and Letitia James — said they were working on a reform package to address incidents such as the Bell shooting. Ms. James said she has authorized a memo to support such legislation on a state and local level, which she said she expects to receive wide support. “It’s strategic anger,” Ms. James said of a continued response to Bell’s death.

Other suggestions ranged from renewed calls for special prosecution to calling for the resignation of Commissioner Raymond Kelly. “Policy changes have to be made,” a prominent Harlem minister, the Reverend Calvin Butts, said.

In other action related to the shooting, members of the December 12th Movement plan to demonstrate against police aggression today in front of police headquarters in Lower Manhattan. A police department spokesman said last night that an adequate numbers of officers would be present to maintain order.


The New York Sun

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