Florida officer who killed retiree
accused of prior excessive force
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[August 12, 2016]
By Laila Kearney
(Reuters) - A Florida police officer who
mistakenly killed a 73-year-old woman during a role-play exercise this
week has been the subject of excessive force complaints in the past,
according to a police official and media reports.
Punta Gorda Police Officer Lee Coel is on administrative leave after
firing a live round that struck and killed Mary Knowlton on Tuesday
night at an event hosted by the police department for about 35 members
of the community.
The role-play exercise has been part of an educational event hosted by
the department for the past two years, Police Chief Tom Lewis told
reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
"Obviously in this circumstance, something went terribly wrong," Lewis
said.
Punta Gorda police have released few details about what led to Knowlton
being shot by a live round, and Lewis declined to answer questions at
the news conference.
He acknowledged reports that Coel, a K-9 police officer, had been
accused of allowing his police dog to attack a man while on patrol in
October last year.

"This officer was involved in a K-9 apprehension incident," Lewis said.
"Currently that incident is in civil litigation."
Lawyer Scott Weinberg said Coel intended to cite his client, Richard
Shumacher, for riding a bike at night without a headlight or taillight
when the attack occurred.
Weinberg, who has filed a notice of intent to sue the city and the
police department, released a police dash-cam video of the incident
earlier this year. In it, Coel can be seen holding Shumacher down while
the dog mauled him.
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Punta Gorda Police Officer Lee Coel is pictured in this undated
handout photo, received August 11, 2016. Punta Gorda Police
Department/Handout via Reuters

"The bottom line is that when I released this video two months ago,
I had warned everybody that this man was going to kill somebody,"
Weinberg said in a phone interview. "I told the chief to his face
that this man was dangerous."
Coel also was accused of excessive force in April 2013 while working
as a police officer for Miramar, Florida police, court records show.
That incident and another case led investigators to determined Coel
had violated department policies, and he was forced to resign, the
Miami Herald reported.
It was not clear if Coel has been disciplined for violating rules in
the incident involving his police dog in Punta Gorda, where he was
hired for the city's force in March 2014.
(Additional reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and
James Dalgleish)
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