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2 more cops in 2006 Bell shooting quit NYPD

The forced retirements came after an internal NYPD trial determined the detectives acted improperly in 2006 incident

By Wilson Dizard, Larry Celona, and Jamie Schram
The New York Post

Two veteran cops ousted from the NYPD for their roles in the Sean Bell killing turned in their retirement papers yesterday.

Detectives Marc Cooper and Michael Oliver walked into One Police Plaza to sign their paperwork. They left without comment - but with their lucrative pensions still in place.

The forced retirements came after an internal NYPD trial determined the detectives acted improperly when they and fellow officers gunned down the unarmed Bell in a 50-bullet fusillade the night before his wedding in 2006.

Cooper, who fired five times at Bell, will get his full pension, pulling down at least $55,000 a year, plus benefits, for his 20 years on the NYPD.

He'll get half his NYPD salary plus a $12,000 annual lump-sum variable supplement given to cops who put in 20 years.

Oliver - who unloaded 31 bullets and stopped to reload his gun during the tragic debacle - has 18 years under his belt and, according to public records, will get around $40,000 plus benefits when he starts collecting in two years.

He does not qualify for the variable supplement payment because he served less than 20 years.

Oliver declined comment as he walked out of Police Headquarters with a strained, nervous smile.

Cooper, sporting a Yankee cap and sunglasses, said he plans to "pursue higher education," but didn't elaborate.

"In the Police Department, you learn that you don't make any comments until after you receive your first pension check," Cooper cracked.

Meanwhile, the cops' supervisor, Lt. Gary Napoli, is expected to report to Police Headquarters today.

Napoli - who was on the scene the night of the shooting, but did not fire - will get a minimum $75,000-a-year based on salary and the special annual stipend.

Because Napoli has 28 years on the force, each year, he will get a payment of one-sixtieth of the total amount of money he made over the final eight years of his career.

While Napoli, Cooper and Oliver were allowed to resign, a fourth cop, Detective Gescard Isnora, was fired after he lost his internal NYPD case.

Isnora was the first cop to shoot at Bell as the would-be groom left a Queens strip joint with two pals after his November 2006 bachelor party. Isnora claimed he opened fire because he thought the men were trying to retrieve a gun in their car.

Isnora, Cooper and Oliver were acquitted of criminal charges at a nonjury trial in 2008.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the administrative trial findings would stand.