Chief Tom Lewis said Thursday he is taking “full responsibility” for the shooting, which he witnessed on Monday night.
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Knowlton, a well-known community volunteer, was killed while assuming the role of the officer during the “shoot/don’t shoot” exercise on Tuesday night.
He did not fire the fatal shots, but the chief of police in Punta Gorda, Florida, says he is “100 percent accountable” for the death of Mary Knowlton.
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. He says it should take that agency between two to four weeks to complete its probe.
As NBC News reports, Coel has been investigated over an incident last fall in which his police dog mauled a man.
Deeply rooted in their faith, the Knowlton family said the woman who committed herself to her family and the community would never let them have hatred in their hearts.
The shooting occurred about an hour into the event, which was scheduled from 5 p.m.to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9.
By all accounts, this was just an unfortunate accident – the prop gun had somehow been loaded with real ammunition as opposed to blanks – but it does not help the situation that Lee has a pretty questionable history in law enforcement.
Authorities are expected to hold a news conference about the shooting Thursday morning.
Mary Knowlton’s neighborhood had recent break-ins, and she was playing the role of an intruder when she was fatally shot, said her son, who could not immediately be reached by Reuters.
Punta Gorda, Fla., Police Chief Tom Lewis gestures as he speaks to the media at the Public Safety Complex Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. “Police say an officer accidentally shot Mary to death during a citizen’s academy “. “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.
Until more information is available the Punta Gorda police will stop addressing the media.
Meanwhile, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) records revealed that Coel was asked to resign from his previous job with the Miramar, Florida, police in April 2013 for “failure to satisfactorily complete agency field training program”.
But Schumacher plans to sue the police officer and the Punta Gorda Police Department. A woman who answered a phone listed for Coel said she didn’t want to talk and hung up.
Coel, a native of Cooper City, Florida, played football at Simpson College in Iowa and meant to be a veterinarian, according to Miramar personnel files. In it, Coel can be seen holding Shumacher down while the dog mauled him.
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Attempts to reach Coel or Coel’s family were unsuccessful Wednesday.
