2008 Woodie Awards
BPD officers discipline in Snelgrove shooting
Cyra Master
Issue date: 9/22/05 Section: News
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The BPD's Bureau of Internal Investigations will discipline Superintendent James Claiborne, Officers Rochefort Milien, Samil Silta and Thomas Gallagher and Sergeants Francis Flynn and Harold Cataldo, Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said Friday in a press release.
Snelgrove, a broadcast journalism major, died after a projectile fired from the "less lethal" weapon Milien was using for crowd control struck her in the eye. She was shot on Oct. 20, 2004 following the Red Sox win in the final game of the American League Championship Series after large, unruly crowds gathered around Fenway Park.
The Bureau found Milien to have used unreasonable and excessive force. He was removed from the Special Operations Division, will serve a 45-day suspension without pay and undergo re-training in the use of force, the press release said.
Claiborne, who was in charge of operations on the night of Oct. 20, 2004, was demoted from superintendent to captain and has been appointed as the commander of District-13, Jamaica Plain, Spokesman Michael McCarthy said.
Silta was given the same punishment as Milien.
According to the District Attorney, who investigated Snelgrove's death, Silta fired the FN303 at a man more than a dozen times at close range.
The victim, Paul Gately, had been hit in the face by a pepper spray pellet while climbing on the girders around Fenway Park. Gately was bleeding from the face when he approached Silta for help, the District Attorney's report said. Silta told investigators he fired at Gately because he felt his manner was threatening and aggressive.
The BPD charged Silta with four counts of unreasonable judgment and three counts of excessive use of force, according to the press release.
Flynn was found to have used unreasonable judgment and to be employed outside the department without permission. He will serve a five-day suspension. Gallagher and Cataldo, who failed to secure crime scene evidence, have accepted written reprimands the press release said.
District Attorney Daniel Conley said last week that while the officers used poor judgment the night Snelgrove was shot, they will not face criminal charges.
In May, the city awarded Snelgrove's family a $5.1 million wrongful-death settlement, the largest in city history. Last week, her parents filed a lawsuit seeking $10 million in damages from the weapon manufacturer, FN Herstal, according to documents filed in Suffolk Superior Court.
Senior journalism major Katarina Yee, Snelgrove's friend, said she had hoped for harsher discipline.
"I was disappointed by the leniency of the punishments, but it's not something I'll dwell on," Yee said in an e-mail. "I would much rather continue to keep her memory alive."