Al Sharpton Vows to 'Shut New York City Down' After Officer Acquittals in Bell Case

"We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians," Sharpton told a huge crowd at his Harlem office. "This city will deal with the blood of Sean Bell."

The Reverend Al Sharpton has threatened to 'shut this city down' before an overflow crowd at his National Action Network office in Harlem. "Shut it down! Shut it down!" the crowd chanted, standing up and applauding wildly. Sharpton was joined by the family of 23-year-old Sean Bell - a black man - and a friend of Bell who was wounded in the 2006 shooting outside a Queens strip club. Two of the three officers charged were also black. One of Bell's companions, Joseph Guzman, also spoke briefly on Saturday, saying: "We've got a long fight." The rally at Sharpton's office was followed by a 20-block march down Malcolm X Boulevard and then across 125th Street, Harlem's main business thoroughfare, where some bystanders yelled out "Kill the police!" Sharpton didn't say exactly how they would protest the acquittals of the officers who fired the 50 shots. He said Bell's supporters could demonstrate all over the city, from Wall Street to the home of Justice Arthur Cooperman, who on Friday acquitted the three detectives after a nonjury trial. The case itself was very controversial. The New York Post has been covering it in depth from start to finish. It appears, however, that it is not quite finished in the eyes of Sharpton and his followers, who are in effect declaring "'No Justice, No Peace!"