New York Adult Entertainment: Plaintiffs: NYC settlement of 50-shot case is fair
… Nobody wins in this,” a somber Joseph Guzman — who was shot 17 times and still wears a leg brace — said at a news conference a day after the settlement was announced.
The deal in a case that ignited community outrage and raised questions about police firepower awards $3.25 million to the estate of Sean Bell, $3 million to Guzman and $900,000 to a third victim, Trent Benefield, minus 30 percent legal fees.
The Bell estate payout will benefit two young daughters he had with Nicole Paultre Bell, who legally took his name after his death.
The fiancee called the settlement “reasonable.” But, she added, the girls “will never have their father.”
Bell, 23, died in a hail of 50 bullets on Nov. 25, 2006, around the corner from a Queens topless bar where he had just had a bachelor party and where undercover police were investigating complaints of prostitution.