-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Justice Department to review evidence after acquittal in Diallo case Albany, N.Y.(CNN) -- The Justice Department announced it will review the evidence in the trial of four white New York City police officers who were acquitted on Friday of all charges in the death of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed black man who was hit by 19 of 41 shots fired at him in the vestibule of his Bronx home last February. The Justice Department released the following statement on behalf of Mary Jo White, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York: "Ms. White announced that, as in cases of this kind, her office, in conjunction with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, will review all of the available evidence with respect to the death of Mr. Diallo, including the evidence available to the District Attorney's Office in Bronx County, to determine whether there were any violations of the federal criminal civil rights laws." The statement came shortly after the acquittal of the defendants -- Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy -- who had all pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree murder in the 1999 killing of Diallo, a 22-year-old immigrant from the West African nation of Guinea. Jurors also were allowed to consider lesser charges, including first-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and reckless endangerment. Before the verdicts were read, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi issued a warning against any emotional outbursts in the courtroom and ordered everyone to remain seated until all motions were heard. Several officers wiped back tears as they heard the jury exonerate them. Carroll gripped a rosary as he listened to each decision from the jurors. The families of the officers and Diallo's mother were in the courtroom to hear the verdicts. Diallo's mother was silent but wept and gripped the hands of her brothers as the verdicts were read. Teresi thanked the jurors and told them the state of New York had strict laws protecting their privacy and that they were under no obligation to explain their decision. Jurors refused to comment after they left the courtroom. During the third day of deliberations, the judge reread -- at the jury's request --the legal guidelines under which the officers could justify the shooting of Diallo as an act of self-defense. Jurors also requested a reading of testimony from criminologist James Fyfe, who said the officers followed proper procedures when they asked Diallo to speak to them and approached him. The officers testified Diallo did not respond to police commands. And for the second time during their deliberations, jurors asked to hear a reading of testimony from officers Carroll and McMellon, who were the first to approach Diallo and who each fired 16 shots. Juror dismissed Jurors, who were not sequestered until deliberations began, were instructed every day by State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi not to discuss the trial outside the jury room. Just before deliberations began Wednesday, Teresi said he dismissed a white woman juror and replaced her with an alternate, a white man, after an investigation by state police revealed she had talked about the case outside the courtroom. The judge said the dismissed juror apologized for her actions, saying if she had it to do over again, she would not have talked about the case. The judge described the woman as "very embarrassed" about it. The re-configured jury consisted of four black women, one white woman and seven white men. The trial was moved from the New York City borough of the Bronx to Albany, New York -- 150 miles away -- because of intensive pretrial publicity. Closing arguments Defense attorneys said in closing arguments Tuesday that jurors should appreciate the fear of the officers the night they shot Diallo, as they faced someone they thought was a dangerous man. "They made a mistake," John Patten, attorney for officer Carroll said. "But they honestly believed this guy was shooting at them." Diallo was struck by 19 of 41 bullets fired at him by the defendants on February 4, 1999. Eric Warner of the Bronx District Attorney's office asked jurors to put themselves into Diallo's shoes, describing what he said the immigrant must have felt as he was approached by the four white police officers. "There wasn't a hint of justification. Who wouldn't be afraid, faced with four big men with guns?" he said. But defense lawyers told jurors that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the four officers were not justified in firing their weapons at Diallo as he stood in the vestibule of his apartment building. Officers: Diallo was 'acting suspiciously' The officers had testified that Diallo was acting suspiciously and did not respond to their commands when they approached him. Defense lawyers said an object Diallo pulled out of his pocket was perceived to be a gun. Diallo did not have a criminal record and the object the officers saw in his right hand was actually a wallet. Murphy's attorney, James Culleton, said the officers followed police procedure when they stopped to question Diallo. "On February 4, 1999, these four police officers, they didn't know who Mr. Diallo was. They didn't know he lived in that building," Culleton said. "And they had an obligation, following proper police procedure, to stop, to walk up to Mr. Diallo and ask, 'Who are you?' and 'Why are you in this area?' "Why Mr. Diallo acted the way he did to this simple request to talk, we'll never know," Culleton added. Prosecution: Diallo was 'doomed from the start' Warner told jurors that Diallo "was being looked at in a way that had him doomed from the start." Defense attorney Steven Brounstein told the jury that his client, Boss, believed Diallo had a gun and was firing at fellow officers Carroll and McMellon. He said prosecutors had offered "not one scintilla of proof" otherwise. The facts that Diallo was at home and did not have a gun were "Monday morning quarterbacking arguments" offered by prosecutors desperate to prove their case, Brounstein said. Brounstein also referred to the prosecution's "mantra of 41 bullets," and said, "Ken Boss did not fire 41 shots. He fired his gun five times. He perceived a threat based on what he heard, what he observed. ... This is not a case of 41 shots." Patten argued that with bullets ricocheting around the vestibule in the Bronx where Diallo died, the defendants thought they were in a firefight. The officers "were wrong," he said. "They made a mistake. But they honestly believed this guy was shooting at them." Added Culleton: "You know about the chaos that was going on, you know why two officers fired 16 shots, one fired five and my client four," he told the jury. "A series of events escalated and what we are left with is a terrible tragedy that everyone feels sorry for, but no crime was committed." But Diallo's neighbors testified that they did not hear officers' voices before sporadic gunfire erupted. And the coroner who performed Diallo's autopsy told jurors that wounds showed he was either falling or flat on his back when most of the rounds hit. Correspondent Maria Hinojosa, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day. ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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