Three detectives were acquitted Friday morning in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell in November 2006.

In a packed courtroom in Queens State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens, Judge Arthur Cooperman ruled that the detectives — Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper — bore no criminal responsibility for Bell’s death or the wounding of his two friends, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman.

Two of the three New York Police Department detectives involved in the shooting death of the unarmed Bell, who was killed in a hail of gunfire outside a Jamaica club just hours before he was to be married in 2006, had faced a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.

As word filtered out moments after 9:15 a.m., people in the large crowd outside the courthouse began to shout and scream.

“They’re saying not guilty, sisters and brothers,” yelled Carl Dix, 59, of Brooklyn. “That is intolerable!”
The three undercover detectives charged in the case elected to have a judge decide their fate, rather than a jury.

The trial of the officers resulted in seven weeks of often-conflicting testimonies about the death of Bell, 23, who was killed in a 50-bullet barrage outside the Kalua Cabaret in Jamaica in the early morning of Nov. 25, 2006.

Guzman and Benefield were shot and injured.

Oliver, 36, fired at the car Bell was in 31 times. Isnora, 29, fired 11 times, Cooper, 40, fired four. Police have said that during their undercover investigation of the Queens strip club, the officers believed someone in the group with Bell had gone to the car to get a gun.

During the trial Isnora testified that following a dispute between patrons, he heard Guzman say: “Yo, go get my gun.”

The officers claimed they only began shooting after Bell bumped Isnora, who had identified himself as a officer, with his car — slamming him into an unmarked police van.

But Guzman and Benefield testified they were unaware police had been watching them — and said the gunfire erupted without any warning.

No weapon was ever found.

Oliver and Isnora had faced felony first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges, as well as assault and reckless endangerment, and were eligible to get 25 years in state prison if they had been convicted.

Cooper faced a misdemeanor reckless endangerment charge.

If Oliver and Isnora are convicted of felonies stemming from the incident, they face not only the immediate loss of their jobs but also their police pensions — though they would keep money they contributed.

Police officers convicted of felonies automatically lose their jobs by law, said Rae Koshetz, former NYPD deputy commissioner for trials.

If a conviction is later reversed on appeal, an officer can apply for reinstatement.

Convictions on the misdemeanor charges wouldn’t necessarily mean jail time for the officers. But it could lead to a departmental trial if a firearms review board finds they violated tactical guidelines.

City officials, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have downplayed the potential for demonstrations and conflicts in the wake of the verdict announcement.

Bloomberg said that while the NYPD and other agencies will be prepared to handle potential demonstrations, he believes there will be no violence.

A bevy of news conferences will greet the verdict.

The Rev. Al Sharpton plans a conference outside the Queens Boulevard courthouse with members of Bell’s family.

Within an hour, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, whose office prosecuted the detectives, will hold his own media event. At 1 p.m. Michael Palladino, head of the Detectives Endowment Association which has supported the trio throughout the trial, will address reporters at his downtown Manhattan office.

Staff writers Tony Destefano and Matthew Chayes contributed to this report.