Police officials described the move as procedural, citing administrative guidelines requiring them to bring charges against officers within 18 months of the incident.
The New York Police Department could take "further administrative steps" once the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn completes a review of the case, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. Federal prosecutors have declined to discuss possible civil rights charges.
Bell, 23, died in a hail of 50 bullets on Nov. 25, 2006, around the corner from a Queens topless bar where he had just had a bachelor party and where undercover police were investigating complaints of prostitution. Two of his friends were seriously wounded.
At a two-month trial in Queens, detectives Gescard Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper said they opened fire on Bell's car because they believed he and his friends were armed, and because the men defied orders to halt and tried to drive away. No weapon was recovered.
Last month, the three were cleared of manslaughter and other charges. A judge, who heard the case instead of a jury, said in a decision that prosecution witnesses who testified that the officers opened fire without warning lacked credibility.
The department last year served charges against Isnora, Oliver and Cooper with administrative charges "which basically mirrored the criminal charges they faced as a result of their indictments," Browne said.
On Tuesday, additional charges were filed accusing the three detectives and one other shooter who wasn't charged in the criminal case with firing outside of police guidelines. Isnora, who followed the men and fired first, also was charged with "taking enforcement action while acting in an undercover capacity while other non-undercover officers were available," Browne said.
In addition, the department accused a lieutenant of failing to properly plan the undercover operation, and two more detectives of failing to properly process the crime scene.
A fifth officer who fired his gun wasn't charged.
Detectives' Endowment Association Michael Palladino said the union would "defend these detectives in the (NYPD's) trial room as vigorously as it did in court."
The Rev. Al Sharpton called on the NYPD to immediately fire the officers, saying there "must be no tolerance for crime but also no tolerance for police misconduct."
Earlier this month, Sharpton led a protest against the not-guilty verdicts in which more than 200 people were arrested for blocking entrances to bridges and tunnels.
The Reverend Al Sharpton released the following statement:
"In light of reports that the New York Police Department has given internal disciplinary charges to eight of the officers in the Sean Bell case, I feel it is a step in right direction. However, we at National Action Network call upon Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to follow the lead of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey who fired four police yesterday, demoted one sergeant, and disciplined others, without going through a long internal procedure. They had the right as does the New York Police Department to terminate people that violate police policy. I strongly believe that the Police Commissioner should fire the officers in the Sean Bell case pursuant to civil service laws. I might add that there was not a fatality in the case in Philadelphia like there was in New York and the City still acted quickly and unequivocally on an incident that was just two weeks ago. This is the kind of aggressive and no nonsense attitude we must have with policing in other parts of the country. There must be no tolerance for crime but also no tolerance for police misconduct and the New York Police Department must send a strong firm signal that that is the case as we have seen in Philadelphia."
