A police “shoot/don’t shoot” demonstration in Florida went shockingly awry when an officer shot and killed a 73-year-old former librarian with what police said was real ammunition used by mistake at an event created to bring police and the public together.
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Officer Lee Coel, 28, has been put on administrative leave as the state of Florida investigates why real ammunition was used by mistake at the event created to bring police and the public together.
FDLE is investigating the officer-involved shooting, said Steve Arthur, communications coordinator for the department.
Lewis also acknowledged that Officer Lee Coel, now on administrative leave for firing the shot that killed 73-year-old Mary Knowlton on Tuesday, was investigated by internal affairs for an October 2015 arrest during which a man was mauled by his police dog for at least two minutes. “Still surreal. How could this possibly have happened?” said Sue Paquin with the Charlotte Sun.
Aycock heads citizen academies locally.
Mary Knowlton and her husband Gary lived in Prior Lake from 1973 until retiring to the Florida coastal town of Punta Gorda.
“I want and tried to save her life”. Let’s hope he doesn’t just get to quit this district and start terrorizing another town… “Then, we thought maybe she had a heart attack. You just never think it’s going to end that way”, said Paquin. Instead of the usual fake gun or blank rounds, Coel fired a real gun with real bullets.
“I am 100 percent accountable for the actions of our department”, he said.
The role-play exercise has been part of an educational event hosted by the department for the past two years, Police Chief Tom Lewis told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
“Obviously in this circumstance, something went terribly wrong”, Lewis said.
Hartwigsen said Mary and her husband would come back to Minnesota periodically to visit. Coel worked at the Miramar Police Department for a year and two months before being hired by the Punta Gorda Police Department.
That incident and another case led investigators to determined Coel had violated department policies, and he was forced to resign, the Miami Herald reported. An attorney said Coel and his K9 partner went too far after a almost two-minute takedown of his client. “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”, the Punta Gorda police said in a statement Wednesday evening.
Officer Lee Coel remains on administrative leave as the police and city do what they can for those affected.
“There was shock in his face”, Paquin said, as she reviewed the last of a series of photos she took during the demonstration.
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The city is offering counseling to anyone who may need it, even if you were not directly involved. We learned many sessions took place Thursday for those who witnessed the incident.
