Three New York police officers were found not guilty on all charges today after gunning down a young black man on his wedding day in November 2006.

Sean Bell, 23, died in a hail of around 50 bullets as he left a stripclub in the borough of Queens after celebrating his stag night. Two friends he had been partying with were injured.

Three NYPD detectives, Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper, were charged with manslaughter, reckless endangerment and assault over the killing.

Today, 17 months to the day after the incident and at the end of a two-month trial, Justice Arthur Cooperman of the State Supreme Court delivered a not-guilty verdict in front of a courtoom packed with spectators including the victim's fiancee and parents.

The case generated outrage in New York’s black community, even though two of the officers are black.

Police prepared for potential unrest after the announcement of the verdict, posting 1,000 officers around the court house. Officials said however that they did not expect violence because numerous demonstrations against the perceived police brutality had remained peaceful.

The three detectives waived their right to a jury trial and decided to have the judge decide guilt or innocence. The defence lawyers said jurors in the borough of Queens were likely to be biased against the policemen due to the intense media coverage the case has generated.

Delivering his verdict, Judge Cooperman said that the charges could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. “Questions of carelessness and incompetence must be left to other forums,” he added.

The trial centred on whether the detectives had reason to believe they faced imminent danger and whether they made it clear to Mr Bell and the two survivors, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, that they were police officers.

On the night of the shooting, Mr Isnora, the undercover officer who fired first, followed Mr Bell and his two friends to Mr Bell’s car, believing they went to fetch a gun to settle a dispute at the club. He opened fire after being grazed by the car.

The other officers reached Mr Bell’s car after the initial confrontation and said they believed that their colleague was being fired at from inside the vehicle.

The two stag night survivors said that they never heard Mr Isnora identify himself as a police officer as he approached the car, his gun drawn.

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