The Sean Bell case

On April 25, the three NYPD detectives charged in the death of Sean Bell were all acquitted. Much debate has arisen as a result of this verdict—any time 50 shots are fired at an unarmed man, questions are going to arise as to how they can still be allowed to walk the streets.

The fact that Sean Bell was black brought a new dimension to an already complicated case. The NYPD has come under scrutiny in recent years and has had trouble shedding its reputation as a racist, trigger-happy unit. After the shooting death of Amadou Diallo in 1999, incidents such as Sean Bell’s have been widely analyzed as case studies in prejudice and racism.

Following the acquittal of the three detectives, many have made calls for protests. A peaceful protest in Harlem took place two days after the verdict was announced. The Reverend Al Sharpton urged protesters to take to the streets and engage in civil disobedience, marches, and boycotts. He promised that New Yorkers would "see some mobilization they have never seen." As a representative to the Bell family, Sharpton strives to help the advancement of the black community.

As these protests unfold, the underlying assumption is that the three detectives were motivated by race when they unloaded 50 rounds on Bell and his companions on that night in November 2006. A closer examination of the situation, however, would suggest that this might be not sufficiently explain why the events of that night unfolded the way they did.

Any given action that a person carries out can be the result of internal factors, external factors, or a combination of the two. In trying to explain these actions, we make attributions, which are explanations for people’s behaviors or for events in general. Essentially, we are asking why a person acted the way they did. We must ask ourselves whether they did so because of temporary, situational conditions (external) or because of stable characteristics (internal). Did something about the situation bring about a certain behavior, or was it the person’s own personality, thoughts, and cognitive processes?

Attributions are an essential piece of social psychology because, when made correctly, they can help us predict future behaviors. Unfortunately, our attributions are not always accurate. We are very vulnerable to the actor-observer bias, which is the tendency for those involved in the situation to make external attributions and for observers to make internal attributions. When a kicker misses a field goal, he is likely to believe that the wind, the distance, and the opposing defense all combined to send the ball wide left. Meanwhile, an observing fan infers that the kicker is just plain bad at his job.

Under the heading of the actor-observer bias is the fundamental attribution error. This concept focuses on the observer side of the actor-observer bias. It maintains that we are much more likely to attribute other people’s behavior to internal factors rather than external ones.

When we discuss the Sean Bell case as a race crime, it is possible that we are making the fundamental attribution error. As it was presented in court, the evidence suggests that detectives’ motives in shooting Sean Bell were those of hatred or discrimination, but of the nature of the situation they were in. It seems that several external factors played key roles in determining the detectives’ behavior.

The detectives were present at the night club as part of an undercover operation that stemmed from complaints of guns, drugs, and prostitution. One would have to assume that such a situation would be characterized by pressure, tension, and fear. When an argument broke out outside the club and one of the men involved used the phrase, “get my gun,” the situation escalated and the detectives were immediately put on edge. And when Bell tried to flee and, in doing so, struck one of the detectives with his car, the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

While we don’t know what the each of the three detective’s internal state truly is or was at the time of the tragedy, to assume it is characterized by racism is an instance of fundamental attribution error. As in any situation, both the internal and external factors must be studied carefully before attributions can be made.

Sources: Newsday, 4/30/08; The New York Times, 4/28/08; The New York Times, 4/26/08; CNN.com, 4/26/08