A community is in mourning following the shooting death of Mary Knowlton, 73, on Aug. 9 during a “use of lethal force” role-playing exercise with the Punta Gorda Police Department. The special event included about 35 members of the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce taking part in a program similar to the department’s citizen police academy. Knowlton was playing the role of the law enforcer while police officer Lee Coel played the role of an assailant. That’s when Coel fatally shot Knowlton. Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis says his department was unaware it even had ammunition for the revolver used in the role-play scenario.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and the incident has raised serious questions among firearm safety experts. We’ll take a closer look at what went wrong as we explore firearm training and what every gun owner should know about firearm safety.
Guests:
W. Alecs Dean, Owner and Founder of International Firearm Safety, Inc/ NRA Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, and Concealed Carry Instructor
Wess Doss, Ph.D., Founder and President of Khyber Interactive Associates, LLC/ firearms, tactics and use of force instructor
