Steve Knowlton on Wednesday said at his parents” home in Punta Gorda, Fla., that he has forgiven the officer involved in the “shoot/don’t shoot’ demo death of his mother, Mary Knowlton.
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Tuesday’s citizen police academy event was supposed to be a “fun night”, Steve Knowlton told the AP. “Police say an officer accidentally shot Mary to death during a citizen’s academy “.
“And the bottom line, I am 100 percent accountable”.
Both the citizen and the officer have a firearm during these scenarios.
Knowlton, a retired librarian from Minnesota and the married mother of two grown sons, was taking part in a citizen police academy drill called “shoot/don’t shoot” when she was shot by Coel with a revolver.
That incident and another case led investigators to determined Coel had violated department policies, and he was forced to resign, the Miami Herald reported.
“People make big mistakes, and they shouldn’t have to live with it the rest of their life”, Gary Knowlton said.
Sue Paquin, a photographer covering the event for the Charlotte Sun, told the Fort Myers News-Press the officer, who was playing the “bad guy”, fired at Knowlton who was playing the “victim” during the scenario.
Mary Knowlton, 73, and her husband of 55 years were supporting their local police department when Mary was killed Tuesday night. He was later cleared of those accusations, he wrote in his application to the Punta Gorda Police Department. “By the time I know, he’s pulling me, I hit my head coming down and hit my back on the floor”.
We took a closer look at Coel’s record and found the officer was terminated from the Miramar Police Department after complaints of excessive force.
Punta Gorda Police Lt. Katie Heck said officers in such demonstrations normally use “simunition guns”, which are real-looking weapons that fire a non-lethal projectile with reduced force. Why was no one aware it was loaded with live ammunition?
A woman was fatally shot by an officer while participating in a “shoot-don’t shoot” exercise during a two-hour citizens academy hosted by the Punta Gorda Police Department in southwest Florida. Coel remains on administrative leave as the investigation continues.
Coel is being monitored by officers for his psychological health, Lewis said, and is receiving assistance from the Police Benevolence Association. Kinney said he was handled roughly once at a police station and that Coel drove at excessively high rates of speed. Scott Weinberg, who is representing a man who said he was mauled by Coel’s K-9 during an arrest in November.
Coel deployed his dog, Spirit, which latched onto Schumacher’s armpit as the man and officer continued to struggle. He specifically hoped to become a K-9 officer.
During his training, other Miramar officers said Coel had “very strong command presence” and was able to take charge of crime scenes and arrests. A woman who answered a phone listed in public records for Coel said she didn’t want to talk and hung up.
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“Trainee gets turned around easily”.
