D.Pham4GLTE (>60GB)

Woman Hurt In Red Sox Celebration Dies
# College Student Shot In Eye By Police Projectile
# Boston Police Accept Blame For Woman's Death

Oct 21, 2004 2:17 pm US/Pacific
BOSTON (AP) A 21-year-old college student died Thursday of a head injury after a clash between police and a crowd of Red Sox fans celebrating their team's victory over the New York Yankees in the streets outside Fenway Park.

Victoria Snelgrove, a journalism major at Emerson College, was shot in the eye by a projectile fired by an officer on crowd-control duty. The nature of the projectile was not immediately identified but the weapons are meant to be non-lethal.



http://kcal9.com/siteSearch/topstori...295182046.html

how can someone die from a non-lethal weapon? unless that weapon really is a lethal weapon...which is it?

Myster X

I see a million $$$$ coming up.

Deftones

They aren't "non-lethal" weapons. That's incorrect terminology. They are less than lethal weapons.

Basically she got shot in the head by an extremely fast projectile, a bit smaller than a paint ball. Hit a person in the right place, and they can die.

BizRodian

Why clash with police?

kvrdave

You've seen Jackass the movie, right? Imagine that beanbag hitting you in the eye instead of in the stomach. Dead.

aintnosin

I heard it was a pepper-ball, basically a paintball filled with pepper spray.

SeekOnce

Hit in the eye? I know the officer probably wasn't aiming at her specifically but what's the deal with the cop shooting pellets above the upper torso and around the head level anyway??

This guy is so hosed.

Roto

Here's the full story
Drunk, maybe? She was in a crowd of people and some of them started throwing bottles at the police. It's doubtful that she was actually one of them.

Giantrobo

I agree.

She was breaking the law and we don't know what she did to the cop before she got hit.....

Giantrobo

why is it doubtful?

asabase

Officer could have been bumped by the officer next to him. The beanbag/whatever could have bounced off the ground or a wall.

That's why these are "less than lethal"

Roto

According to the story there was a big crowd and only a few of them actually throwing bottles. One officer got a broken nose from a bottle. That was probably all it took for them to react, which I don't blame them for. Nobody should have been shooting at head level though.

Roto

It was a ball filled with pepper spray. They could've shot at their feet.

Deftones

No, they couldn't. The dispersion area for those is extremely small. You need to hit center mass for them to be effective.

DVD Polizei

- shoot at her feet...shoot below her torso...

Maybe instead of blaming a cop, let's put the responsibility on the dumbasses who initiated the problem in the first place.

Don't wanna get hurt or possibly die--then don't screw around with a bunch of punks who are assaulting cops. I have no problems with her death. She was an idiot.

Such a nice sweet picture of her. Who is she, Mother Teresa now? Please.

Deftones

In her defense, she may have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. She could've been standing next to someone who was throwing rocks, and was accidentally hit by the projectile.

So, until all the facts come out, let's not blame either party.

DVD Polizei

Oh really. Read this:

Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole expressed the department's sympathies to Snelgrove's family and said the agency "accepts full responsibility for the death of Victoria Snelgrove."

"The Boston Police Department is devastated by this tragedy. This terrible event should never have happened," O'Toole said.

Instead of even mentioning that this dumbass should have used a little college brain power, we already have the smoking gun being fired from the police force's own.

Damn, someone wants this to go away quickly.

P.S. Now I'm reading in another article where O'Toole might be back-tracking on her statement. Nice one, O'Toole!

Gallant Pig

This seems like a really dumb technology for controlling riots. It's the first time the Boston Police ever used it and someone got killed. What's wrong with tear gas?

Deftones

Oh really? Despite accepting responsibility, doesn't mean it was done intentionally. I'm not saying it the officers were right or wrong, but let's let the investigation reveal the facts, and not take the Police Commissioner's comments as verbatim here. In situations like this, it's usually a wrong place at the wrong time scenario.

DVD Polizei

Tear gas has been proven to cause people to stampede and run quickly from the gas, which can cause multiple deaths.

Deftones, Esq,

Well, when a civil suit comes around, these statements will be used. Maybe O'Toole should just shutup.

A simple, "We regret that one of our Red Sox fans has died, and we are looking into the incedent with top priority. That's all ladies and gentlemen. When we finish the investigation, we will immediately inform the public. Thank-you."

Deftones

Tear gas is no longer used (except for certain situations). It can cause respiratory issues and allergic reactions which lead to death in a very, very small percentage of people.

Pepper spray (oleoresin capsicum) is non-lethal. It will still cause respiratory issues, but there has never been a documented case of death with use.

The problem is when people hear that police are using non-lethal weapons, they are being misinformed. Most of these "non-lethal" weapons, are less than lethal. They can kill you, but only in very extreme situations.

Deftones

Um no. Pepper spray can cause the same issue but they still use it. Many times I've seen crowds of people being restrained with pepper spray. See my post above.

Gallant Pig

Why not use pepper spray from a can that shoots long range? Certainly that would have a much lower fatality range than high speed pepper paintballs.

DVD Polizei

Deftones, Esq

I agree with the toxicity of tear gas, but riddle me this. What's the first thing a crowd does when tear gas is fired at them.

Tear gas is only meant in extreme situations where the police force cannot contain the crowd--cannot move it where they want to, and the crowd must be split. Obviously, using tear gas in situations varies with police dept. and incident.

Pepper spray is nice, but you have to get closer to the actual person you want to hit--which is an interesting coincidence with this recent incident, no?

MACD23

witnesses around the incident are saying the crowd surrounded a group of officers and some jackasses started firing bottles and bricks at police, getting the horses riled up and scared as well........at that point an officer began firing these pepper bullets into the crowd at will and one struck this woman in the eye.she was simply standing in a group of friends, doing nothing wrong.......the crowd was massive, so there wasn't much she could do to "get out of the way" of the trouble makers.