The trial of three detectives charged in the shooting death of a man outside a strip club on the morning of his wedding will begin Monday in Queens.

The evidence relating to the death of Sean Bell, 23, in November 2006 will be presented to Judge Arthur Cooperman of state Supreme Court in Queens. The decision by the detectives to waive their right to a jury and leave the verdict to the judge ensures more subdued performances by both prosecutors and defense lawyers. The challenge Judge Cooperman faces will be to pin down the actions and mind-set of each detective during the period when 50 bullets flew from five guns toward the Nissan Altima carrying Bell and two friends.

Two detectives, Gescard Isnora and Michael Oliver, are charged with manslaughter, which can carry a sentence of 25 years. Another detective, Marc Cooper, faces the lesser charge of reckless endangerment. Two other officers who fired their guns were not charged.

The police officers were present at the Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica on either an anti-narcotics or anti-prostitution operation. At least one of the detectives, after overhearing an argument outside the club, was under the impression that Bell and his friends were going to retrieve a gun from Bell’s car. After the hail of gunfire, which lasted seconds, it was found that neither Bell nor his friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, were armed.

To many New Yorkers, the details of Bell’s death echoed the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo, who died in a hail of 41 bullets after fleeing from officers who mistook him for a suspect in a rape case.

The first witness will be Bell’s fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, the Daily News reported. Being the first witness would allow her to watch the rest of the trial after she finishes her testimony. She recently appeared in a Rocawear clothing ad in Vibe and Essence magazines that carried the words “We are going to be here to the end, ’till justice is served,” the New York Post reported.