Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis is not guilty of culpable negligence stemming from the shooting death of 73-year-old Mary Knowlton while participating in a shoot/don’t shoot scenario at police headquarters last August. The jury reached a verdict Thursday afternoon.
It took three hours of deliberation for the jury of four men and two women to find Chief Lewis not guilty.
The case went to the jury after two hours of final arguments in which the prosecution insisted Lewis was fully responsible for Knowlton’s death because he had not put proper safety protocols in place. But defense attorney Stephen Romine launched into a powerful rebuttal, insisting while there were a number of people responsible for Knowlton’s death, Chief Lewis was not one of them. Romine said now-fired Officer Lee Coel is the one who chose to break the rules, to bring in unauthorized ammunition, and to point his .38-caliber revolver in the victim’s direction. And he launched into a scathing attack on former Punta Gorda police Lieutenant Katie Heck for providing Coel with that ammunition.
In the hallway outside the courtroom, attorney Romine responded briefly to questions.
“I think we had a wonderful jury,” said Romine. “They did a great job. They were very attentive. It was the right decision. We were very pleased with the verdict, that the right thing happened. There was a ton of time put into this process. We just took a second degree misdemeanor into what, four or five days worth of trial. That’s not the usual way a culpable misdemeanor case will happen.”
Immediately after the verdict was announced, the Punta Gorda city manager released a statement saying Chief Lewis will remain on paid administrative leave until the department’s internal affairs committee completes its investigation.
Neither Gary Knowlton, Mary’s husband, nor their son Steve, made any comment as they rushed from the courtroom.