Saltine grandma accidentally shot dead during Florida police propaganda academy exercise...

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stringer bell
stringer bell Members Posts: 26,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/10/woman-accidentally-shot-dead-during-florida-police-academy-exercise
Woman accidentally shot dead during Florida police academy exercise

A 73-year old woman was killed during a police community seminar on Tuesday in ? Gorda, Florida, during a routine training exercise.

Mary Knowlton was taking part in a police-hosted informational meeting by the ? Gorda police academy, when she was fatally shot during an exercise that was supposed to simulate a hypothetical crisis situation.

The “shoot/don’t shoot” scenario – a demonstration that was part of a two-hourCitizens Police Academy event – is intended give guidance about how police determine when to use lethal force in a potentially deadly, real-world confrontation.
Knowlton was one of two people selected out of a group of approximately 35 for the exercise. During the demonstration, she was inexplicably hit with a live round.

During a press conference on Tuesday night, police chief Tom Lewis detailed the events surrounding Knowlton’s death, which he called a “horrible accident”.


“Our entire police department and all of our city leaders are absolutely devastated for everyone involved in this unimaginable event,” Lewis said. “I am asking that if you pray, you pray for Mary’s husband and family and for all of the officers and witnesses involved in this incident.”

The officer whose weapon discharged, killing Knowlton, has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of an independent investigation by the Florida department of law enforcement, Lewis said.

“The ? Gorda police department realizes that our community will have many questions about this incident,” he said. “However, we are taking care not to jeopardize the investigation.” He did not answer reporters’ questions during Tuesday’s press conference.

It is not clear why a loaded weapon was used in the exercise, given that such demonstrations are often conducted with fake or unloaded weapons. Pictures from the ? Gorda police department’s Facebook page show a previous training simulation in March with civilians that mirror the kind of class in which Knowlton was killed. Pictures show a similar scenario featuring a seemingly fake weapon.


According to the News-Press, a public information officer for the police department said they had run demonstrations similar to Tuesday’s for about two years without injuries or incident.

Originally from Austin, Minnesota, Knowlton was a librarian who was living in ? Gorda, according to her Facebook page. She was pronounced dead at the Lee memorial hospital in Fort Myers. The west Florida town of 17,500 people is located on Florida’s Gold Coast, about 20 miles from Fort Myers.

The kind of citizen-police academies at which Knowlton was shot are very prevalent across the US, having a presence in hundreds of cities nationwide, both in small towns like ? Gorda as well as major population centers such as New York and Los Angeles.

According to the National Citizens Police Academy Association, a national membership body that partners with citizens and law enforcement groups across the country, the idea of a citizens police academy originated in England in 1977, and was first imported to the US in Orlando in 1985.

“These programs are intended to open the lines of communication between the community and the Police Department,” the website says. “By allowing citizens a firsthand look at what rules, regulations and policies the police follow, some of the misunderstanding may be alleviated.

It adds: “The objective of the Citizen Police Academy is not to train an individual to be a ‘Reserve Police Officer’ but to produce informed citizens.”

The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the Obama administration initiative aimed at reducing crime while increasing public trust in law enforcement, gave credence to the worthiness of a citizen policy academy.

“Law enforcement agencies should engage youth and communities in joint training with law enforcement, citizen academies, ride-alongs, problem solving teams, community action teams, and quality of life teams,” it said in its 2015 report.
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  • Recaptimus_Prime360
    Recaptimus_Prime360 Members Posts: 64,801 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Inb4 the #WhiteLivesMatter group protests
  • CashmoneyDux
    CashmoneyDux Members Posts: 11,217 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Inb4 the #WhiteLivesMatter group protests

    HEY

    #ALLLIVESMATTER DAMNIT
  • deadeye
    deadeye Members Posts: 22,884 ✭✭✭✭✭
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  • Trillfate
    Trillfate Members Posts: 24,008 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2016
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    the same Florida that shot a black man with his hands in the air but said they were actually trying to shoot a ? .. Oh ok
  • optimistic
    optimistic Members Posts: 659 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Maybe I shouldn't have given her this sign before she went in

    FB_IMG_1446385658110_zpssxko3707.jpg
  • Ghostdenithegawd
    Ghostdenithegawd Members Posts: 16,231 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    It's not funny but at the same time hilarious
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Regulator
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    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • stringer bell
    stringer bell Members Posts: 26,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    http://www.news-press.com/story/news/crime/2016/08/10/officer-who-killed-? -gorda-woman-resigned-previous-job/88534150/
    Officer who killed ? Gorda woman resigned from previous job

    The police officer who killed a 73-year-old woman during a special presentation by the ? Gorda Police Department on Tuesday night was asked to resign from a Southeast Florida department before being hired two years ago in Charlotte County.

    Lee Coel fired at Mary Knowlton during a "shoot or don't shoot" scenario, killed the retired Minnesota librarian in front of 35 people at a ? Gorda Chamber Police Night event. The revolver was supposed to be loaded with blanks.

    Coel, 28, left the Miramar Police Department after 14 months in the Broward County municipality. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, he left the agency in April of 2013 for failing to satisfactorily complete an agency field training program. He was hired at the ? Gorda Police Department in March 2014.

    Tania Rues, Miramar police spokeswoman, said Coel resigned but could not comment why.

    In a resignation letter dated April 16, 2013, Coel said he was resigning for personal reasons from the position of certified law enforcement officer.

    "During my time of employment, I acquired an abundance of knowledge and skills which I will benefit from for the rest of my life," Coel wrote.

    A ? Gorda-based attorney says Coel shouldn't have been a police officer in the first place.

    Scott Weinberg, who represented a client alleging excessive force against Coel, said Coel was asked to resign from Miramar's department and questioned why he was still on the force.

    "I was demanding that he be fired months ago, and I was warning people he was going to ? somebody," Weinberg said.

    Weinberg represented Richard Schumacher, who was 25 at the time, after he was mauled by Coel's K-9 partner during an arrest, the attorney said. Schumacher was seriously injured after the K-9 bit him, according to Weinberg.

    The arrest occurred on Oct. 30, 2015. Coel attempted to pull Schumacher over for riding his bike without a headlight or a taillight, but the cyclist ignored his commands. Eventually, Schumacher went down to his knees upon Coel's orders. Schumacher pulled his arm away from Coel as the officer tried to arrest him.

    Coel deployed his dog, Spirit, which latched onto Schumacher's armpit as the man and officer continued to struggle.

    Schumacher can be heard on a video published on YouTube asking the officer to get the dog off of him.

    "Stop resisting," Coel repeatedly says to Schumacher.

    "I'm not resisting," Schumacher says between screams.

    Spirit mauled Schumacher for about two minutes.

    Coel was not disciplined for the incident.

    "I don’t think he did this intentionally at all," Weinberg said about the shooting of Knowlton. "I'm not saying that, but he does not have proper skills to be a police officer. If he would have been fired this wouldn't have happened."

    Weinberg called Coel a "cowboy."

    "Every time he pulled somebody over he acted like he was in the middle of a war zone," Weinberg said.

    The Schumacher case was the only civil case Weinberg had against the police officer, but he said other clients had been arrested by Coel.

    "A lot of those cases get dismissed because he doesn’t follow proper procedure," Weinberg said.

    Coel remains on administrative leave while the incident is under investigation, according to Lt. Katie Heck of the ? Gorda Police Department.

    Coel previously participated in "shoot or don't shoot" scenarios and is often seen doing presentations in the community, said Heck.

    "Like the rest of our community, Officer Coel is devastated by what happened and is receiving assistance from our department and the Police Benevolent Association at this time," Heck said.


    FDLE is investigating the officer-involved shooting, said Steve Arthur, communications coordinator for the department.

    "Each case is different and usually they take weeks to get through, especially if there are a lot of people to interview, and it sounds like there was," Arthur said of the Tuesday night shooting. "The investigation is in the early stages but is extremely active. At this time there are no further details available."

  • manofmorehouse
    manofmorehouse Members Posts: 2,716 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    AggyAF wrote: »
    What's her arrest record looking like tho

    Did she have marijuana in her system?? Alcohol?? What was on her browser history??
  • _God_
    _God_ Members Posts: 6,396 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Ey you know how it go down
  • So ILL
    So ILL Members Posts: 16,507 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    AggyAF wrote: »
    What's her arrest record looking like tho
    Quoted for emphasis.
  • powerman 5000
    powerman 5000 Members Posts: 3,084 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2016
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    lmao here's another story about it:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/10/woman-fatally-shot-in-accident-during-fla-citizen-police-academy-lethal-force-simulation/
    Mary Knowlton arrived at the ? Gorda, Fla., police station Tuesday night to learn how to be a community steward.

    The 73-year-old was there as a student in the citizens police academy, a two-hour course intended to give an intimate look at what makes the department in the quaint Florida town work. On this night, the group of 35 would tour the station and talk with officers, an essential part of academy curriculum that has gained popularity across the country amid a heated national debate about police violence.

    When it came time to get involved, Knowlton volunteered.

    The hosting officers chose two students to role-play a lethal force simulation, a scenario intended to demonstrate how and when officers decide to pull the trigger. Knowlton played the victim, Charlotte Sun photographer Sue Paquin told the newspaper, and a ? Gorda police officer played a “bad guy.” These scenarios are usually safe, acted out with either fake or empty weapons.

    But when the officer’s gun was fired, Knowlton — a mother, wife and career librarian — was hit with a live round.

    She was rushed to a local hospital and was pronounced dead.

    Her husband of 55 years witnessed the shooting and is “devastated,” her son, Steve Knowlton, told the Associated Press.

    The tragedy has rocked the historic waterfront town on Florida’s west coast, home to 17,500 people and a popular destination for retirees. ? Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis called the shooting a “horrible accident” and said that everyone involved was in a “state of overwhelming shock and grief.”

    “Our entire police department and all of our city leaders are absolutely devastated for everyone involved in this unimaginable event,” the chief said Tuesday night. “I am asking that if you pray, you pray for Mary’s husband and family and for all of the officers and witnesses involved in this incident.”

    The ? ass pig just came in guns blazing and let the victim have it. lmao.... And you not suppose to question these guys when they get it tragically wrong in their own training scenarios??? lmao, oh well, I guess she should have complied...
  • Will Munny
    Will Munny Members Posts: 30,199 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2016
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    Cops are probably the biggest perpetrators of negligent discharges cause they are always around their guns so they get complacent. This guy was literally about to do an exercise where guns were going to be pointed at people, no excuse for this.

    Just use fake guns for christs sake.
  • gh0st
    gh0st Members Posts: 1,956 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Will Munny wrote: »
    Cops are probably the biggest perpetrators of negligent discharges cause they are always around their guns so they get complacent. This guy was literally about to do an exercise where guns were going to be pointed at people, no excuse for this.

    Just use fake guns for christs sake.

    This I don't get why they had real straps for a demo with civilians involved. Even at the gun range I go to they use those orange a blue guns to instruct new users on gun safety and usage before letting anyone handle an empty gun. Everyone I know knows that even dry firing an empty pointed at someone is a huge no no and you subject to get your ass kicked for playing.
  • CashmoneyDux
    CashmoneyDux Members Posts: 11,217 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    http://fox13now.com/2016/08/11/woman-fatally-shot-playing-officer-in-florida-police-academy-drill/
    Knowlton had been speaking with her family Sunday about the negative press police had received after a series of officer-involved shootings across the nation and had decided to attend the civilian police academy to show her support for local law enforcement, said her son, Steve Knowlton.

    “Our society needs them and people are human and they make mistakes, but that’s why she went there,” he told CNN.

    You can't write this
  • warren98
    warren98 Members Posts: 472 ✭✭✭✭
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    Copper wrote: »
    Knowlton had been speaking with her family Sunday about the negative press police had received after a series of officer-involved shootings across the nation and had decided to attend the civilian police academy to show her support for local law enforcement, said her son, Steve Knowlton.






    So this cac was there to show her support for cops killing ? and a cop shot her?


    bxz4vfkg0e9q.gif

    Oh the f'n irony
  • rapmusic
    rapmusic Members Posts: 4,130 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    What kinda Barney Fife ? is that?
  • Swiffness!
    Swiffness! Members Posts: 10,128 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Copper wrote: »
    Knowlton had been speaking with her family Sunday about the negative press police had received after a series of officer-involved shootings across the nation and had decided to attend the civilian police academy to show her support for local law enforcement, said her son, Steve Knowlton.






    So this cac was there to show her support for cops killing ? and a cop shot her?


    bxz4vfkg0e9q.gif

    Can't stop laughing at this

    I knew the IC thread was gonna be GOAT when i saw this story