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Posted by: JoninNH

Twenty-year-old Victoria Snelgrove was struck in the head by a pepper-spray pellet during a celebration after a key playoff win.
Prosecutors this week decided not to file criminal charges.

Now Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole says the officers won't be fired but they will be disciplined.

She says her department has "learned from its mistakes." Three of the officers have admitted exercising "unreasonable judgment."

The Snelgroves have been paid a five (m) million-dollar settlement by Boston and are suing the gunmaker for ten (m) million.


You have got to be fucking kidding me.

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Posted by: mpd61

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoninNH Twenty-year-old Victoria Snelgrove was struck in the head by a pepper-spray pellet during a celebration after a key playoff win. Prosecutors this week decided not to file criminal charges. Now Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole says the officers won't be fired but they will be disciplined. She says her department has "learned from its mistakes." Three of the officers have admitted exercising "unreasonable judgment." The Snelgroves have been paid a five (m) million-dollar settlement by Boston and are suing the gunmaker for ten (m) million. </FONT> You have got to be fucking kidding me.

The fact that officers admitted "unreasonable judgement" = personal responsibility

I doubt that civil liability standards can be proven against the manufacturer of the pepper ball gun in this case. When individuals admit culpability, and you agree not to pursue said individuals further, you need to let it go

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Posted by: Gil

No amount of money will ever replace a lost life. It was a terrible tragedy for all those involved.

I can see going after the Boston Police Department and the City of Boston because there is no doubt in the Snelgroves mind they feel that BPD is ultimately responsible for their daughters death but going after the gun maker just seems like a little more than sending a message.

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Posted by: TopCop24

Tell me that the family isn't in it for the money now!! Sure it was an unfortunate incident and the girl paid the ultimate price with her life, but no amount of money should matter to the family. 15 million isn't going to get their daughter back, so why don't they just sue for 50 million?? Why are they going after the gun maker? Next they'll go after the Red Sox since it happened outside of Fenway AFTER they won. Snelgrove vs Boston Red Sox, you killed our daughter because you won the game.

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Posted by: mpd61

weird twist#2:

City of Boston has filed jointly with the Snelgroves against the Pepper-Ball manufacturer and stand to recoup $2 million from the gun maker. This would offset the city's $5 million payout to the Snellgroves!

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Posted by: LenS

I have a question here . . .

Were these FN pepperball guns ORIGINALLY advertised to the PDs as "NON-Lethal" or "less lethal"?

If they were advertised by sales reps/literature/etc. to the PDs as "NON-Lethal" a good lawyer can make a very strong case of responsibility for misleading the PDs on the safety/proper use of this tool.

[I'm sure that current advertising has been changed/warnings added after the Snelgrove incident, so the key to this case is what were they saying before the incident?]

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