• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

Woman accidentally shot during citizen police academy (citizen patrol) training

OC for ME

OC for ME

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
12,452
Location
White Oak Plantation
Punta Gorda Police: Woman shot, killed at Citizens Academy

Mary Knowlton, 73, was shot during a roleplay scenario in which the officer was playing a “bad guy” and fired several times at the woman who was supposed to be playing the victim, according to Sue Paquin, a photographer who was covering the event for the Sun and witnessed the incident.

http://www.news-press.com/story/new...ident-punta-gorda-police-department/88500140/
Click to expand...
Cop walks.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes...ing=&URL=0700-0799/0782/Sections/0782.03.html

Almost every officer in their career has an accidental discharge," he said. "It's the nature of handling guns … We're human and we make mistakes.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/4202425-155/salt-lake-city-police-officer-shoots
Click to expand...
Hmm...
 
OC for ME

OC for ME

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
12,452
Location
White Oak Plantation
Not a fan of CAs. A few classroom hours covering the The Blue Wall of Silence, how to yell "stop resisting" effectively, and saying "sorry...my bad" when you "accidentally" shoot a citizen who should not have been shot. If those are added to the LP I would consider attending a CA.
 
solus

solus

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
9,315
Location
here nc
now there are three commentaries on the subject...
1. The Social Lounge Have an accidental discharge and they want to convict you of something?
2. The Social Lounge Woman accidentally shot during citizen police academy (citizen patrol) training
3. The States Florida Punta Gorda Police: Woman shot, killed at Citizens Academy

slow day eh?

ipse
 
WalkingWolf

WalkingWolf

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
11,930
Location
North Carolina
What in the hell was a functioning firearm used in force on force training.? Everybody should be fired that was involved, and the supervisors that allowed this fiasco.

Training guns is not a new concept, it has been around for decades, complete idiots.
 
Maverick9

Maverick9

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
1,404
Location
Mid-atlantic
In addition, the suspect had been involved in this scenario training before, hired in 2014.

He allegedly pointed the Revolver at the person playing the victim (!) and fired several times.

They supposedly DID load the revolver but thought they were using blanks. Why? Don't they know blanks could propel a squib or something stuck in the barrel with lethal force at close range? (Brandon Lee shooting was similar, according to some reports).

Supposed to have had two people checking. But if they were using blue guns, inoperable guns, there would be no need for checking. Can't they afford cap guns?

This was a bad situation waiting to happen, IMO.
 
OC for ME

OC for ME

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
12,452
Location
White Oak Plantation
Lewis said he could not talk about the gun used due to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, but explained that only some officers have access to that weapon and it has been used before at similar events. He said his department believed the gun only had blanks available and was not sure how the gun had real bullets nor how it being loaded was missed.
Click to expand...
What is there to investigate and why should it take weeks? Only some officers had access to that pistol. Who had access to the pistol, which officer(s) accessed the pistol, which which officer replaced the blank ammo with live ammo?

FDLE investigator (to the 34 civilian witnesses): What did you see?
34 witnesses: I saw officer Coel shoot Mary Knowlton with a pistol. I saw Mary Knowlton fall. I thought it was part of the training scenario. About 2-3 minutes later we were told to get back. I learned that Mary Knowlton was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The FDLE investigation should take just a few minutes per officer who was present given that only a few officers were present at the training session. A week, tops, and then publish the findings of the investigation.

Is there video/audio of the incident?
 
solus

solus

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
9,315
Location
here nc
OC for ME said:
What is there to investigate and why should it take weeks? Only some officers had access to that pistol. Who had access to the pistol, which officer(s) accessed the pistol, which which officer replaced the blank ammo with live ammo?

FDLE investigator (to the 34 civilian witnesses): What did you see?
34 witnesses: I saw officer Coel shoot Mary Knowlton with a pistol. I saw Mary Knowlton fall. I thought it was part of the training scenario. About 2-3 minutes later we were told to get back. I learned that Mary Knowlton was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The FDLE investigation should take just a few minutes per officer who was present given that only a few officers were present at the training session. A week, tops, and then publish the findings of the investigation.

Is there video/audio of the incident?
Click to expand...

did Ms knowlton get hit with an actual bullet or blank ammo residue? do not believe they have released that tidbit

ipse
 
solus

solus

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
9,315
Location
here nc
sidebar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKjYlpex4OM

quote: A judge in Orlando, Florida dismissed a lawsuit by the DEA agent Lee Paige who claimed his agency leaked a video that showed him accidentally shooting himself in the foot while demonstrating gun safety in Florida.

I'm the only one in this room professional enough, that I know of, to carry a Glock .40... BOOM! (added 50 secs into the video)


Apparently he is also not professional enough to prepare a winning lawsuit, which he filed himself, as the judge stated that Paige had not provided any evidence as to who released the video. (The person who shot the video had turned it over to the DEA.)


Agent Paige claimed in his lawsuit that DEA officials made him a "target of jokes, derision, ridicule, and disparaging comments," ruining his career as an undercover agent and motivational speaker, by releasing a video of the 2004 incident. Really, people actually teased him? Laughed about this incident? Gee, who would have thought...


It was pretty amazing that he was able to keep his composure though - that was well done. unquote

ipse
 
OC for ME

OC for ME

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
12,452
Location
White Oak Plantation
solus said:
did Ms knowlton get hit with an actual bullet or blank ammo residue? do not believe they have released that tidbit

ipse
Click to expand...
All I know is what has been reported.

He [Punta Gorda police Chief Tom Lewis] said his department believed the gun only had blanks available and was not sure how the gun had real bullets nor how it being loaded was missed.
Click to expand...
The cynical side of me fears that the FDLE will take "weeks" to be sure that local LE has their ducks in a row so as to mitigate the collateral damage from one or two boneheads.

The optimist in me seeks a thorough and comprehensive house cleaning because the shooter is the last, but not the only, person to have killed that poor library...yeah right, what was I thinking.:rolleyes:
 
solus

solus

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
9,315
Location
here nc
newser just reported, quote: The Florida police officer who accidentally fired real bullets during a role-playing drill, killing a 73-year-old woman, doesn't exactly have a spotless record. During his rookie year with the Miramar Police Department in 2013, Lee Coel, 28, was accused of excessive force on two occasions before investigators determined he had violated department policy; he says he was cleared of the excessive force claims but still forced to resign. Then earlier this year, Coel was sued after setting a police dog on a man riding a bicycle at night without a light; the man had ignored Coel's commands. unquote

OC for me, the smoke is clearing...

ipse
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top