Police getting rid of pepper pellet guns used in fan death
BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Police Department is getting rid of the pepper-pellet guns blamed for the death of a college student during Red Sox celebrations more than two years ago.
"Never. They'll never again be used in the city of Boston," police Commissioner Edward Davis told the Boston Herald for Thursday's editions.
The department's 13 FN303 pellet guns, which haven't been used since Oct. 21, 2004 when Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove died hours after being struck in the left eye with a pellet fired by police, will be melted down and recycled into sewer caps.
Davis suggested dumping them in Boston Harbor.
The weapons and ammunition were bought for $36,000 with federal Homeland Security funds before the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Snelgrove's death, which occurred as thousands of people celebrated the Red Sox American League Championship Series Game Seven victory over the New York Yankees, was the first and only time the weapons were used by Boston police. Two other revelers were struck in the head, but survived.
Former Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole stored the FN303s in the department's armory following the death.
Davis met with the commission that investigated Snelgrove's shooting and decided they weren't fit for the department. The weapons were "much more powerful than what they were perceived to be," he said.
The department will use either horse patrols or pepper spray foggers for future crowd control issues, Davis said.
The move to dispose of the weapons, manufactured by FN Herstal USA, was supported by Mayor Thomas Menino.
"I fully support Commissioner Davis decision to get rid of the pellet guns," Menino said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Snelgrove family refused comment when contacted by the Herald.
The commission formed to investigate the incident concluded that Snelgrove's death was an avoidable tragedy caused by poor planning and "serious errors in judgment" by Boston police. The officers who fired the weapons were improperly trained in their use.
Snelgrove, a journalism major from East Bridgewater, was not targeted by police, nor was she behaving unlawfully, police have said.
All of the officers involved in the incident were either suspended, demoted or reprimanded, but no criminal charges were filed.
Boston paid a $5.1 million settlement to Snelgrove's parents. The Snelgroves also reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with the gun's manufacturer.
