The Sean Bell verdict so stunned me; I’ve needed to let it simmer before taking fingers to keyboard . Can any New Yorker take this verdict as less than a license to Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Kelly’s police to kill black men with impunity?

The first thing I read was Justice Arthur Cooperman’s written verdict of acquittal. While the outcome, that the cops would walk, seemed possible to me, the vague, cavalier, conclusory judgment he issued, seemed to me a bob-and-weave slap in the face to all of us. Some thought and judgment may have gone into his decision, but none was revealed by his written work. Justice Cooperman, 74, facing mandatory retirement , did not grace those following the issues of this case with his analysis, did not explain what – if anything – he thought was unproved in the prosecution’s case. Errol Louis was as stunned as I by what felt to be the callously narrow character of the verdict .

The New York Times coverage of the verdict has been exemplary: Michael Wilson's articles here and here and the Editorial here should not be missed. Also check out Jim Dwyer’s column here .

Sally Goldenberg, in the Staten Island Advance, had a wonderful article comparing the reactions of Mayoral contenders William Thompson (outraged) with Christine Quinn (Time to move on) here . Is it too cynical of me to suspect that this means that Mr. Thompson hopes to hold the primary votes of black New Yorkers, while Ms. Quinn does not have great hopes in that area?

The very best written reaction I’ve seen and absolutely a Do Not Miss is the dynamite verdict on the verdict by Juan Gonzales also in the Daily News.

For myself I don't know what I would do were I the parent of young black men. One option,
training them to survive police encounters seems born of desperation. The policy solutions proffered seem weak. Norman Seigel and Sen. Eric Adams called for a permanent special prosecutor and neutral investigators. NYPD wants to wait for its favorite white-wash wielding contractor, the RAND Corporation, to report -- Hold your breath.

I have one half-baked thought. One reason Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo were shot so many times is that official police weapons fire off their clips very quickly. Because revolvers take more effort to fire, police so armed can't so easily fill innocents with lead. If we make it harder for the cops to shoot, maybe they'll shoot fewer times, claim fewer victims.