PUNTA GORDA — The maze of yellow crime-scene tape that covered most of the parking lot at the Punta Gorda Police Department earlier was gone by the time Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis addressed reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Lewis again talked about an officer-involved fatal shooting that had most everyone in this small community of about 18,000 talking and asking how a 73-year-old woman could have ended up dead during a seemingly harmless role-playing demonstration called “shoot, don’t shoot.”
The demonstration was part of a Citizens Academy attended by some 35 participants — mostly members of the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce — who had been extended a special invitation from the police department.
Just about everyone who showed up for the academy knew the victim — Mary Knowlton — an active chamber member and avid supporter of Friends of the Library.
Chamber President Jim Wright said he witnessed the surreal chain of events unfold outside the police station in a back section of the parking lot.
“Honestly, we thought it was part of the scene,” Wright said, recalling the shooting that unfolded. “It didn’t take long to realize it was reality. It’s a tragedy.”
Unlike late Tuesday night and earlier Wednesday, when he did not take questions after reading a statement offering his condolences and expressing his shock, Chief Lewis answered questions late Wednesday.
Asked about the weapon used, Lewis said it was a revolver that had been used in other Citizens Academy demonstrations.
“This was an actual firearm,” Lewis said. “We were not aware that live ammunition was used.”
The chief said the revolver is kept in a safe place that can be accessed only by a few officers. When pressed about the protocol and how the loaded gun ended up in the officer’s hand without it being checked, Lewis said that would be part of the Florida Law Enforcement investigation that he requested.
“All officers don’t have access to this weapon,” Lewis said.
Although Lewis would not release the name of the officer involved during the news conference, police spokeswoman Lt. Katie Heck later identified the officer as Lee Coel, who is now on administrative leave.
The immediate reaction following the shooting has been one of shock and disbelief, said eyewitness Sue Paquin, a Sun correspondent who captured the tragic moment with her camera.
Blank rounds were supposed to have been used, but the woman who volunteered in the simulated “shoot, don’t shoot” exercise was struck with live ammunition.
National media outlets have poured in requests to the Sun wanting to interview Paquin, who wrote a first-person account of what she witnessed.
“I caught Knowlton bending over clutching her abdomen,” Paquin reported. “She then fell to the ground. I thought she was acting at first. Then thought she had a heart attack from the sound of the gun fire. But then I saw blood.”
Troubled history
Officer Coel has had an up-and-down stretch with 49-member Punta Gorda Police in his two years with the agency after leaving the Miramar Police Department in 2013.
Just last week, he was featured on the Sun’s front page for unselfishly going into a canal to help bring up a big dog weighing more than 100 pounds that had gotten stuck between the sea wall and deck piling.
Coel also made news earlier this summer under less flattering circumstances. Coel lit up social media when a video that went viral showed him doing little to stop his K-9 companion, Spirit, from mauling a man whom Coel stopped for riding his bicycle at night without lights.
The Sun previously reported in June that Coel had had two excessive force complaints in Miramar. While that city’s agency determined that he had committed two policy violations, it concluded the pair of allegations were unfounded. Coel left Miramar in April 2013, citing failure “to meet probation” requirements as his reason for leaving. He began working at the PGPD in March 2014.
Charlotte County attorney Scott Weinberg, who is representing the mauled man — Richard Schumacher — told the Sun that Chief Lewis should have fired Coel after the mauling incident, which took place in October 2015, but not addressed by police until it swept through social media two months ago.
“This should never have happened,” Weinberg said. “(Knowlton) was a very active member of our community. I’m saddened, but not shocked.”
Weinberg went so far as to call for Lewis to step down.
“Unfortunately, when the police chief backed officer Coel after the first incident, and now this happens, I expect him to resign,” Weinberg said. “I told everyone this was a bad officer.”
Punta Gorda resident Fred McFarland Jr., a self-described Navy veteran exercising his constitutional rights, paced outside the Punta Gorda Police Department holding a sign that read: “I.D. The Shooter.” McFarland said he’s been attending the monthly “Coffee with the Chief” public meetings conducted by Lewis and remembers asking why Punta Gorda police didn’t have FDLE investigating the dog-mauling incident, instead of paying a private third party to review the matter. McFarland also questioned why it took so long to release Coel’s name to the public in the Knowlton shooting.
“If it had been a civilian involved in the shooting he’d be all over the newspaper,” McFarland said.
First-hand account
Paquin said FDLE investigators interviewed her and all the other participants of the Citizens Academy. She said the officer was removed to some other area. Paquin recounted what she saw and heard in what was described to the group as “a police training exercise.” Knowlton played the trainee, who was dispatched to check out a suspicious person looking into parked cars, according to the eyewitness.
Paquin said a PGPD officer with his face masked and wearing a hoodie played the “bad guy.” She said Knowlton was armed with a gun loaded with detergent.
The “bad guy” fired first and Paquin said she heard three or four shots coming from the officer, and saw Knowlton fall to the ground.
“There was shock in his face,” Paquin said, as she reviewed the last of a series of photos she took during the demonstration.
Onlookers also watched in shock, Paquin said.
“The first split-second, you’re thinking she’s playing along with it,” the witness said. “Then, we thought maybe she had a heart attack. The third scenario was, oh my God, something’s wrong, something worse.”
Paquin said officers called 911 and first responders appeared within two minutes to rush Knowlton to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers.
“There was shock, disbelief. For a little while there was just silence, especially in the beginning,”
Paquin added. “Then there was a lot of crying, a lot of praying. The police were in shock, too.
“Shortly, Chief Lewis came into the room and uttered the words nobody wanted to hear,” Paquin said.
“The unimaginable has just happened,” (Lewis) said, referring to the live round being fired during the demonstration.
Paquin said PGPD Senior Chaplain Bill Klossner also addressed the citizens, speaking with people and praying with them.
Punta Gorda police did not question the group, but did download the photos from her camera. Although officers did not remove the pictures from her camera, Paquin said police asked her not to release the photos for 24 hours for the benefit of the victim’s family. City Manager responds to shooting
Wednesday morning, Punta Gorda City Manager Howard Kunik spoke on behalf of the city’s elected officials to express their dismay and sorrow at the loss of life.
“We want to express our deepest sympathy for the family and friends of Mary Knowlton,” Kunik said. “We are shocked by this horrific accident and are grieving deeply over Mary’s passing.”
Kunik also acknowledged the toll that the event is taking on members of the “public safety family” and expressed his support for the way Chief Lewis is handling the tragic shooting.
“(Lewis) immediately contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to respond and begin an investigation into the events surrounding this incident,” Kunik said. “As your Mayor, City Council and City Manager we have complete faith in our Chief of Police to ensure that this outside investigation is conducted thoroughly.”
Staff writer Gary Roberts contributed to this article.
Email: cgalarza@sun-herald.com
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