Report Faults Use of Pepper Spray Pellet Gun For Crowd Control
by TChris
TalkLeft lamented -- here and here -- the use of pepper spray projectiles as crowd control devices after a woman, cheering on the Boston Red Sox, died when a pellet struck her eye. A panel investigating the death faults the police officer who fired the errant shot, but also places blame on the department's decision to buy the pellet guns for crowd control.
As to the officer:
"Officer Milien failed to take sufficiently into account that he was shooting at a moving target in the midst of a crowd and that a missed shot could easily strike a bystander," the report said.
As to the department:
"We find that inadequate planning and training, combined with a breakdown of command discipline, set up a situation ripe to produce an unintended result," read the report by the commission, headed by former U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern.
The commission also faulted the Police Department's decision to buy the air-powered pellet guns in early 2004. Police officials did little research before making the purchase, then failed to properly train officers in their use, the panel said.
Five officers face departmental discipline as a result of their role in the woman's tragic death. The City of Boston paid the woman's family $5.1 million to settle their wrongful death claim.
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