Why & HOW could this happen?
Woman fatally shot playing 'officer' in Florida police academy drill
By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
Updated 2:38 PM ET, Wed August 10, 2016
(CNN)A police officer accidentally shot and killed a retired Minnesota woman during a civilian police drill in Punta Gorda, Florida, that was supposed to employ only blank ammunition, police said.
The officer shot Mary Knowlton on Tuesday night during a "shoot/don't shoot" role-play scenario," in which officers make decisions on using simulated lethal force in a live role play, Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis said at a news conference.
Lewis said the gun used in the active-shooter scenario mistakenly had a live round in it.
Knowlton was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
At a Tuesday press conference, Lewis said didn't want to divulge too many specifics because of an ongoing state investigation. Asked how the real bullet found its way into the weapon used in the drill, he said the department was unaware there was any live ammo for the revolver. Officers thought there was only blank ammunition available, he said.
Knowlton was 73, according to CNN affiliate WINK. A librarian who originally hailed from Minnesota, she was listed as being on board of directors for the Friends of the Punta Gorda Library. A longtime friend told CNN she loved children, books and learning and had myriad friends through her philanthropic work and her years with the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District in Minnesota.
During the scenario in which Knowlton was shot, participants played the roles of police officers, good guys and bad guys, and everyone was provided "blank guns," Punta Gorda police Lt. Katie Heck told CNN.
Knowlton was selected to play an officer, she said. Heck said she could not verify how many times Knowlton was shot.
more:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/10/us/punta-gorda-police-academy-fatal-shooting/index.html
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