Commanding Officer To Testify About Sean Bell Killing

Lieutenant Gary Napoli, the commanding officer in charge of the accused detectives, will be the first police officer to testify who was at the shooting, as the trial zeros in on the 50 shots fired by the police at Mr. Bell and two of his friends, one of whom, officers said, was suspected of having a gun.

Lieutenant Napoli has described the evening of the shooting in interviews with police investigators. The club enforcement detail had met at the Seventh Precinct station house on the Lower East Side of Manhattan the night before.

Prosecutors contend that the detail was disorganized from the start, its members having chosen their own roles in the night’s mission rather than having received them from Lieutenant Napoli. The lieutenant is scheduled to appear on Thursday as a witness for the prosecutor, but he is expected to receive harsh questioning.