Ex-cop demands disability pension for shooting woman

The ex-Punta Gorda police officer who shot and killed a retired librarian during a training exercise in 2016 has demanded that his department grant him a disability pension for PTSD. 

Lee Coel filed a lawsuit on November 21 against the Punta Gorda Police Department for refusing to give him the disability pension for post-traumatic stress he claims he suffered after the shooting of Mary Knowlton, according to the Herald Tribune. 

Earlier this year, harrowing footage of the August 9, 2016, shooting showed the moment 73-year-old Knowlton was shot dead in front of her husband during the training exercise. 

 

Mary Knowlton

Ex-Punta Gorda police officer, Lee Coel (left), has filed a lawsuit against his former department demanding they grant him a disability pension for PTSD he suffered after killing Mary Knowlton (right) during a training exercise 

Coel filed a lawsuit on November 21 against the Punta Gorda Police Department for refusing to give him the disability pension. Knowlton (right) was pretending to be a cop, while Punta Gurda police officer Coel was playing the role of the 'bad guy' (left) 

Coel filed a lawsuit on November 21 against the Punta Gorda Police Department for refusing to give him the disability pension. Knowlton (right) was pretending to be a cop, while Punta Gurda police officer Coel was playing the role of the ‘bad guy’ (left) 

Knowlton fell to the ground after Coel, 29, shot her with a gun mistakenly loaded with live rounds instead of blanks.

The mother-of-two had volunteered in a ‘shoot, don’t shoot’ exercise in front of dozens of spectators. 

She was pretending to be a cop, while Punta Gurda police officer Coel was playing the role of the ‘bad guy’. 

Coel was fired in March from the department and charged with manslaughter.

The ex-cop is now asking a judge to reverse the order of the Board of Trustees of the Punta Gorda Police Officers’ Pension Fund that ruled him ineligible in July for disability pension benefits, according to the Tribune. 

Coel’s criminal case will likely occur in 2018, and if he is convicted of manslaughter in Knowlton’s death, he will lose his ‘rights and benefits’ anyway. 

The suit includes two physician’s statements that claim he suffers from PTSD and other impairments that have left him with ‘total and permanent disabilities’.

Coel’s lawsuit alleges that he was denied due process, in that a ‘final order’ regarding benefits must be issued within 90 days from the date of submission.

CCTV shows the mother-of-two walking up to Coel to volunteer in a 'shoot, don't shoot' exercise in front of dozens of spectators in Florida

CCTV shows the mother-of-two walking up to Coel to volunteer in a ‘shoot, don’t shoot’ exercise in front of dozens of spectators in Florida

The retired librarian (left) fell to the ground after Coel shot her with a gun mistakenly loaded with live rounds instead of blanks. Her husband, Gary (right), was standing just 10 feet away

The retired librarian (left) fell to the ground after Coel shot her with a gun mistakenly loaded with live rounds instead of blanks. Her husband, Gary (right), was standing just 10 feet away

A decision on Coel’s application was made over five months after its submission, according to the Tribune. 

During the tragedy, Knowlton’s husband Gary was standing just 10 feet away when she was shot in the shoulder and chest last August. She died later at a local hospital.

Mr Knowlton said: ‘He (Coel) turned her over and she looked horrible. Blood all over the place.

‘I thought ‘Oh my God!”

Mr Knowlton also claimed that he was not allowed to ride in the ambulance with his wife and was directed to the wrong hospital by police.

Knowlton and her husband had been married for 55 years. The aim of the class was to teach people when not to shoot.

Coel fired the fatal round while dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt and black ski mask – in a bid to look like a ‘criminal’. 

The Florida police officer was fired from the police force after he pleaded not guilty to a first-degree manslaughter charge earlier this year. 

Coel was charged with felony manslaughter, while police chief Tom Lewis was charged with culpable negligence. 

The cop was placed under arrest but Lewis was given a summons to appear in court over his misdemeanor charge. 

CCTV footage shows Coel aiming a gun at Knowlton from behind a car and accidentally shooting her 

CCTV footage shows Coel aiming a gun at Knowlton from behind a car and accidentally shooting her 

Coel (left) was charged with felony manslaughter, while police chief Tom Lewis was charged with culpable negligence

Coel (left) was charged with felony manslaughter, while police chief Tom Lewis was charged with culpable negligence

Lewis said at the time that ‘everyone involved is in an overwhelming state of shock and grief’, adding that it was a ‘horrible accident’.

Punta Gorda City Manager Howard Kunik announced Lewis’ termination in August 2017 on the city’s website following an internal investigation. 

It found a casual approach to citizen safety during demonstrations and a non-standardized approach that created unnecessary risk for everyone involved.

Coel faces up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted. 

Experts told NBC News that the revolver, like the one used in the August 2016 shooting, should have been equipped with sizing collars that would have prevented live ammunition from being loaded.

Firearms instructor, Jay Hawkins, told the station: ‘If the collars were inserted in the revolver, only the training ammunition marking or blank would be able to fit into that firearm.’

The Punta Gorda City Council approved a more than $2 million settlement with the Knowlton family in November 2016.  



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