woman killed in police training exercise

A place for sharing news stories related to armed citizens, law enforcement & 2A/CCW topics.

Please note that when linking to an article you must cite the source URL and provide no more than a brief preview of the article to ensure fair-use standards are met.

NO DOCUMENT DUMPING.

Posts in violation of these rules are subject to immediate deletion without warning.

Moderators: Chuck, Mustang380gal, Coordinators, Moderators

M-Quigley
Posts: 4782
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2015 10:06 pm
Location: Western Ohio

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by M-Quigley »

Here is some updated information. Apparently the revolver in question is a 38 special, and the blanks were stored next to live 38 special ammo. (which the chief didn't think they had any of :roll: )

http://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2016/08/29 ... ing-worse/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
catfish86
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 2571
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:44 pm

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by catfish86 »

The officer says they are a "small department" but all of my children have known not to do what they did before puberty. There are plenty of realistic looking airsoft guns, blue guns, etc to have used. That it was stupid and negligent is beyond obvious. Whether it was criminal is an open question.

As to the chief "taking responsibility" that is resigning. As I have said before, if something this stupid happens in the military, they fire the commander and THEN investigate to find out what was wrong and who is responsible. The commander is always responsible.
God,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can
and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Carrying a gun is a right, not a crime.

Gun control is racist.
User avatar
DontTreadOnMe
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 1750
Joined: Wed May 02, 2012 11:11 am
Location: SW Ohio

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by DontTreadOnMe »

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/34575268/dec ... y-shooting" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Update: The state's attorney has arrested and charged Officer Coel with manslaughter, and the police chief has been charged with culpable negligence.
User avatar
catfish86
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 2571
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:44 pm

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by catfish86 »

At some point, somebody died and there has to be consequences. Interesting to see if they take a plea or go to trial.
God,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can
and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Carrying a gun is a right, not a crime.

Gun control is racist.
User avatar
DontTreadOnMe
OFCC Patron Member
OFCC Patron Member
Posts: 1750
Joined: Wed May 02, 2012 11:11 am
Location: SW Ohio

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by DontTreadOnMe »

Link to FDLE investigation report: http://www.ci.punta-gorda.fl.us/home/sh ... nt?id=3627" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Conclusion from the report:
"There is no evidence that officer Coel intended to use lethal ammunition ... furthermore it is apparent that officer Coel’s and others' inability to differentiate between blank firing cartridges and .38 caliber HBWC resulted in Mary Knowlton’s death."
The report identifies a lot of incompetence within the department, including nobody willing to say they know what blank ammunition looks like despite that being a key component of several public demonstrations. However the report also notes that Officer Coel participated in several demonstrations with that gun and "blank" ammunition, and notes:
"Ofc. Coel stored two boxes of the Blazer HBWC ammunition in the back of his assigned K-9 patrol vehicle, along with three boxes of Winchester .38 blank firing cartridges, and one box of Fiocchi .380 blank firing cartridges."
The thing is, those boxes are clearly marked -- see below. He had multiple boxes of blank ammunition clearly marked with the word "Blank" and the ammunition that didn't have the word "Blank". I could understand if all he had were loose rounds, but not since he had the boxes (which are described in the report, so the Blazer HBWC and Winchester 38spl blanks at least are as pictured below).

Image
Image
Image
User avatar
High Power
Posts: 2557
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:03 pm

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by High Power »

As much as I hate to say it. The cops ought to take a lesson from Hollywood on this kind of stuff.

I will conceded that there have been mishaps on the movie set and people have died. Yet with all the gun play we see on the silver screen they manage to get fewer people killed than the LEOs in the training exercises.

Okay, my flame suit is on.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
marca
Posts: 331
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:30 am
Location: Loveland, OH

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by marca »

Any person, cop or otherwise, who is carrying a gun and can't distinguish between a real round and a blank is not smart enough to be carrying a gun.
User avatar
Bruenor
Posts: 7306
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:03 pm
Location: Geneva, OH

Re: woman killed in police training exercise

Post by Bruenor »

Police chief terminated after investigation of incident.

http://nypost.com/2017/08/31/police-chi ... -exercise/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A Florida police chief has been fired just more than a year after one of his officers accidentally shot and killed a woman during a citizens academy exercise.

Punta Gorda City Manager Howard Kunik announced Tom Lewis’ termination on the city’s website Wednesday after an internal investigation. It found a casual approach to citizen safety during demonstrations and a non-standardized approach that created unnecessary risk for everyone involved.
Μολὼν λαβέ

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them."

- Thomas Paine

"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."

- Thomas Jefferson
Post Reply