ad info




CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
* U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 SPACE
 HEALTH
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 ARTS & STYLE
 NATURE
 IN-DEPTH
 ANALYSIS
 myCNN

 Headline News brief
 news quiz
 daily almanac

  MULTIMEDIA:
 video
 video archive
 audio
 multimedia showcase
 more services

  E-MAIL:
Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists.
Enter your address:
Or:
Get a free e-mail account

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 AsiaNow
 En Español
 Em Português
 Svenska
 Norge
 Danmark
 Italian

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 TIME INC. SITES:
 CNN NETWORKS:
Networks image
 more networks
 transcripts

 SITE INFO:
 help
 contents
 search
 ad info
 jobs

 WEB SERVICES:

US

New York police officers face trial in shooting of West African immigrant

Diallo
Diallo allegedly was shot 19 times by New York City police officers  

Judge rules evidence sufficient to let murder cases proceed

September 30, 1999
Web posted at: 6:43 a.m. EDT (1043 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Four New York City police officers accused of gunning down an unarmed West African immigrant in February will have to stand trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.

In a pretrial hearing, state Supreme Court Judge Patricia Williams denied a defense motion to dismiss or reduce second-degree murder charges against the four officers -- Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy.

"I found the evidence sufficient to support the charges in the indictment," she said in her ruling.

The officers are accused of murder in connection with the slaying of Amadou Diallo, 22, an immigrant from Guinea. Officers fired 41 bullets at Diallo, hitting him 19 times, in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building. He died at the scene.

The judge also denied a defense motion to move the trial, scheduled to begin in January, out of New York City because of extensive publicity the case has generated. She said defense counsel would have to raise that issue with an appeals court.

Defense attorneys claim that officers believed Diallo was armed at the time of the shooting, even though it was later determined that he did not have a gun. All four have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry prison sentences of 25 years to life.

Hundreds of members of the police union gathered outside the courthouse where the hearing was held Wednesday, showing their support for the four officers.

Reuters contributed to this report.



RELATED STORIES:
Fatal shooting by N.Y. police draws protest
August 31, 1999
Diallo's mother seeks new attorney in police shooting case
August 13, 1999
Officers indicted in Diallo case want murder charges dismissed
August 2, 1999

RELATED SITES:
New York City Police Department
Human Rights Watch - Shielded from Justice: New York
Amnesty International - Police Brutality Widespread Problem in New York City
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.