Defense Witness Testifies In 'Sean Bell' Case

Officer Michael Carey, was the first defense witness who testified on Thursday at the trial of three detectives charged in Sean Bell’s death, saying he heard the shouted identification and watched as Mr. Bell drove the car into the detective’s leg.

The Altima surged away from the curb, “the fastest it could from a parked position,” and struck Detective Isnora’s leg, causing a minor scrape, before hitting the unmarked police van in which Officer Carey was a passenger, he said. The Altima then reversed, angling onto the sidewalk near the detective before striking a security gate hard enough to shatter the vehicle’s rear windshield, Officer Carey testified.

“I still heard Detective Isnora yelling, and there were other voices at this point also yelling police commands,” Officer Carey, 27, said, adding that at that moment, he thought the situation had ended.

“I believed at this point that there was no possible way that the people in the car would make any further actions,” he said.