WHEN THE UNDERCOVER BEAT IS A NIGHTCLUB

It is an upside-down kind of police work, the opposite of the men and
women in blue on sunny streets. There is no uniform, and often no
gun, no badge, no bulletproof vest, no radio car with lights and
sirens. Instead, officers drive rental cars and are armed with
city-issued money and a two-drink limit. Skip to next paragraph
Multimedia Interactive Graphic A Fatal Police Shooting in Queens

Undercover police work in the city's nightclubs is a dangerous and
vulnerable assignment, the sort of work assigned to the new citywide
Club Enforcement Initiative. That unit is under new scrutiny after a
police shooting outside a Queens strip club shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday.

According to the police, five officers on the club detail shot into
the men's Nissan Altima, killing a bridegroom and wounding two of his
friends. The officers fired 50 rounds, the police said, after the men
struck an officer with the car and twice slammed it into an unmarked
police van. Officials have said the officers believed there was a gun
in the car, but none was found.

The Club Enforcement Initiative was formed after a series of
high-profile and violent crimes against people who visited city
nightclubs this year, the police said, most recently the July 27 rape
and murder of a woman, Jennifer Moore, 18, who was abducted along
12th Avenue after a night in bars and clubs. Her body was found in a
garbage bin in New Jersey, near a hotel where the police say she was killed.

Under orders from the Organized Crime Control Bureau chief, Anthony
J. Izzo, several officers from a Manhattan vice squad and the
citywide narcotics office were assigned to the new detail,
investigating nightclubs that were deemed chronic problems. The unit
crossed the river to Queens and other boroughs after the situation in
Chelsea stabilized, said Paul J. Browne, a police spokesman. New
information from Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and interviews
with former undercover officers described the unusual nature of the work.

Marq Claxton retired last year as a detective after 21 years with the
department, and worked undercover narcotics operations in Brooklyn
and Queens, sometimes unarmed and without a bulletproof vest.

"You have to really be prepared," Mr. Claxton said. "You have to know
when it's time to turn back around and get out. Sometimes you get a
bad feeling."

Mr. Claxton is a spokesman for the group 100 Blacks in Law
Enforcement Who Care, which has criticized the shooting and raised
questions about alcohol consumption on the job, suggesting that
officers involved in shootings should undergo medical evaluations to
test alcohol levels.

In the Club Enforcement Initiative, there are two teams of seven
officers, said Julian Harper, a former lieutenant who retired in
September and is familiar with the operation. Generally, two
undercover officers work inside the club, or the "set," while the
others work outside as backup for an eventual arrest. The undercover
officers are often unarmed, especially when there is a search for
weapons at the door. This was the case on Saturday, when the
undercover officers left guns, vests and badges outside.

The officers are allowed two drinks. "We authorize them to have two
drinks, and no more," Mr. Kelly said at a news conference. "This
initiative started at one in the morning, so they were there for three hours."

To abstain from or refuse alcohol, said those familiar with the
unit's tactics, could conceivably tip off other patrons that an
undercover operation is taking place.

The officers are expected to carry hidden transmitters, disguised as
pagers or cellphones, which allow them to communicate with the
officers outside and record the night's events, Mr. Claxton said.
"You could have a cellphone that's really a transmitter," he said. It
is unclear whether the officers in the club Saturday carried such devices.

In a routine operation, the undercover officers witness illegal
activity, like prostitution or drug sales. "You get into
conversations with people who are inside," said, Mr. Harper, the
retired lieutenant. "You see if there's anyone dealing drugs. You
make agreements with prostitutes."

The officer then alerts the officers outside, and ideally, leaves the
set, thereby preserving his or her cover while the suspects are arrested.

This was not the case on Saturday, when one undercover officer,
suspecting the men had a gun, left the club and armed himself before
following Sean Bell, the bridegroom who was killed, and his friends
to their car and ordering them to stop, then firing. Mr. Kelly
conceded yesterday that such behavior by an undercover officer was
unusual, but officials said it was not unheard of. What had started
as an investigation of drugs and prostitution now focused on firearms.

At least one of the two undercover officers inside the bar had had
two beers between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., Commissioner Kelly said. That
officer was one of the two who did not fire in the shooting. Five
officers from the team of seven fired at the Altima. One officer with
12 years of experience fired 31 rounds.

The other undercover officer fired the first shots. Those familiar
with that officer's account have said he believed the men were armed.
It is unclear if that officer drank in the club. The police have not
yet been able to question him while the Queens district attorney
conducts an investigation, Mr. Kelly said.

A commanding officer found all the officers fit for duty -- meaning
they showed no signs of being impaired by alcohol -- during the
operation outside Club Kalua in Jamaica, the police said.

Mr. Claxton said money for the drinks is given to the officers before
the operation, and the bills are photocopied, so that all remaining
bills can be accounted for later.

It was not unusual in vice details for the other officers on the team
to enter the set to see a suspect firsthand, and in doing so, have a
drink, the former undercover officers said.

The retired officers said it is the discomfort and the feeling of
aloneness that keep some people from going into the undercover details.

"Everybody's not undercover," Mr. Harper said. "Some people can do
it. It can be kind of hairy."