Nicole Paultre Bell, the fiancée of slain police shooting victim Sean Bell, is on a journey to find the Truth.
The cavernous, wood-paneled Queens courtroom of the Sean Bell trial is packed. Even though proceedings are well into the third week for the New York detectives charged in shooting Sean-an unarmed Black man who died in a storm of 50 police bullets on what was supposed to have been his wedding day—the case has sustained vigilant attention.
The young man’s parents, William and Valerie Bell, listen intently to the witnesses called to the stand, along with a diverse mix of news reporters, local high school students, the Reverend Al Sharpton and other community activists.
Also in attendance, flanked by close relatives, is Bell’s fiancée. Dressed in a chic black suit, a tiny gold pin attached to her lapel reading “Sean Bell: See You Later,” Nicole Paultre Bell, 23, leans forward in her seat. As she listens to testimony from residents who recount being jolted awake by the sound of gunshots, and crime-scene detectives with ballistics evidence, her poise never breaks. Paultre Bell has made getting justice for her slain fiancé a full-time job, and she’s serious about her business.
During recess, at an Italian restaurant across from the Queens County Criminal Court, Paultre Bell sits up straight and speaks confidently about the trial and Sean Bell, her high school sweetheart and the father of her two young daughters.