NEW YORK (AP) _ Governor Paterson says he's "surprised" by last week's acquittal of three police officers in the fatal shooting of unarmed groom-to-be Sean Bell.

Queens State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman cleared undercover detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper Friday of charges including manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and assault. The November 2006 shooting took place near a Queens strip club where 23-year-old Bell had just left his bachelor party.

Officers unloaded 50 shots on Bell and his two friends in the early morning hours on the day Bell was to be married; Bell's friends survived. The officers said they believed the men had a gun and feared for their lives; the three were unarmed.

The governor said he understood why some people are upset and protesting. He noted that cases such as the Bell shooting "arouse a mistrust" in the criminal justice system, but he said the verdict must be accepted.