Nicole Paultre, accompanied by civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, was a guest on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” sharing her experience since her husband-to-be Sean Bell, died at the hands of policemen as he left his bachelor party in the early morning hours of November 25.
Answering questions from viewers’ emails, Paultre, 22, expressed no anger at the police officers responsible for the death of the 23-year-old Bell. Paultre, who is left to care for the couple’s two daughters, even said she had no resentment towards New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was not present at Bell’s funeral last Friday. Days earlier, Bell met with Bloomberg and told King she felt reassured that the matter would be handled properly.
At the start of the live interview, King said invitations to appear on the show were extended to Bloomberg and New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, but neither accepted.
Paultre refrained from spewing any venom towards the officers involved in the shooting or police in general.
“I believe it was an individual who made this happen, but I believe there are some things (about police) that need to be looked into,” Paultre said.
Sharpton told King that it’s a misconception that black Americans hate police, but acknowledged that there are some issues that need to be ironed out between law enforcement and people of color.
“Most people question the police conduct, not the police. We need the police,” said Sharpton, adding that this matter and all forms of abuses of power by police should be addressed from a national level.
“Excessive force and deadly force must be looked at nationally. We can’t keep going case by case,” Sharpton said, suggesting that he’s looking to see if national law experts can develop a national plan to deal with policing in America. “Let’s make something positive and permanent out of this, and that will be the legacy of Sean Bell.”
“He didn’t deserve this,” Paultre said. “No one deserves for something like this to happen to them.”
