Former Democratic party presidential candidate Al Sharpton was arrested Wednesday as part of a protest of the acquittal of three New York City policemen who fatally shot Sean Bell in 2006. AP:The Rev. Al Sharpton was arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday as he and hundreds of demonstrators blocked traffic to protest the acquittal of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man on his wedding day.Sharpton is a buffoon. This "demonstration" is nothing but an attention grabbing stunt that will accomplish nothing beyond giving Sharpton more camera time. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man's fiancee were among about a dozen people arrested on disorderly conduct charges near the base of the bridge. Police led away demonstrators at several other bridges and tunnels in the city.
The protests were part of a coordinated campaign to urge federal authorities to investigate the November 2006 shooting of Sean Bell. Three officers were acquitted of state charges last month.
Sharpton, shooting survivors Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, and Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, lined up and peacefully put their hands behind their backs as police put plastic handcuffs on them. Sharpton and Bell were placed in a police vehicle.
The civil rights leader is seeking a federal civil rights probe into Bell's shooting outside a Queens nightclub. The case raised questions about police use of deadly force in minority neighborhoods.
Sharpton had promised recently to "close this city down" with civil disobedience.
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