Victoria Snelgrove

Victoria Snelgrove (October 29, 1982 – October 21, 2004) was a student who was accidentally killed by Boston police about an hour and a half after the Boston Red Sox's victory over the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series. Snelgrove was a junior majoring in journalism at Emerson College, to which she had transferred from Fitchburg State College in the fall of 2003. She was 21 years old when she died. She was mortally wounded near Fenway Park when an FN 303 blunt trauma / pepper spray projectile hit her in her eye, causing her to bleed excessively. Ambulances were blocked by the excessive crowds which still refused to clear the area, preventing prompt medical attention from arriving from the dense medical area only a half-mile away. Snelgrove died at 12:50 p.m. EDT at [http://www.brighamandwomens.org/ Brigham and Women's Hospital] in Boston, Massachusetts, about 12 hours after being shot. According to the autopsy, the pellet opened a three-quarter-inch hole in the bone behind the eye, broke into nine pieces, and damaged the right side of her brain. A video of the scene shows the crowd dispersing once they realized the severity of her injury as she lay face-down on the ground bleeding.

Boston Police Department Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole placed the police officer involved in the incident on leave. O'Toole later attended the hour-long funeral on October 27, 2004, at St. John's Catholic church in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts along with Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Gov. Mitt Romney.

The investigation and aftermath

The investigation into Snelgrove's death was led by former U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern best known for prosecuting mob figures, including fugitive Winter Hill Gang leader James "Whitey" Bulger. O'Toole accepted the department's responsibility, yet still blamed the "punks" who turned the event into a near-riot as the real cause. After the police investigation, Officer Rochefort Milien was identified as the person who actually fired the shot that killed Snelgrove. On May 2 2005, the city of Boston announced a $5.1 million settlement for her family's lawsuit.

On September 12, 2005, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced that he would not prosecute any of the officers involved. ref|DAstatement

On September 16, 2005, O'Toole demoted the police superintendent who was in charge the night of the shooting to captain and suspended two officers. She also issued written reprimands to two other officers. Milien agreed to accept a 45-day suspension without pay. The deputy superintendent outside Fenway Park at the time of the incident was also criticized for poor decisions that led to Snelgrove's death, but had already retired and escaped disciplinary action.

The weapon that killed Snelgrove was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. Because of this incident, several police forces, including the Seattle Police Department, discontinued use of this weapon. As of 2005, further claims regarding the inaccuracy of the model FN 303 have come up, and may prompt a recall of the weapon.

After her death, Boston Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon said he would have traded back Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS to have her back.

Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan dedicated their book, "Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle The Historic 2004 Season" to Snelgrove. The dedication reads simply : "For Victoria Snelgrove / Red Sox fan".

Notes

# http://www.mass.gov/da/suffolk/docs/091205.html Retrieved October 26, 2005

References

* [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/11/crowd_control_guns_accuracy_is_questioned/ Crowd-control gun's accuracy is questioned]
* http://www.mass.gov/da/suffolk/docs/120904.html
* [http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=81369 news story on city settling lawsuit]
* http://www.mass.gov/da/suffolk/docs/091205.html
* http://www.mass.gov/da/suffolk/docs/091205a.html

External links

* " [http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/22/fan.death/ "Boston police accept 'full responsibility' in death of Red Sox fan"] ", CNN. October 22, 2004.
* [http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041028/NEWS/410280392/1002/SPORTS Hundreds Mourn Student Killed by Police Pellet]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041112032629/http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=6649956 Seattle Suspends Pepper Gun Used in Boston Death]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/27/sports/baseball/27funeral.html Violence Denounced in Eulogy for College Student]
* [http://jsons.collegepublisher.com/media/paper139/news/2005/06/03/Bostonregion/Stern.Commission.Report.Criticizes.Boston.Police.In.Snelgrove.Death-954791.shtml Emerson press covers the release of the Stern Commission]
* " [http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/11/13/video_clip_records_fatal_fenway_shooting?pg=full "Video clip records fatal Fenway shooting"] ", Boston Globe. November 13, 2004.
* [http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/09/21/in_snelgrove_files_officers_recount_night_of_chaos/?page=full%3Cbr%20/%3E In Snelgrove files, officers recount night of chaos, The Boston Globe, September 21, 2005]
* [http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/Headline_Archives/2005/05/well_never_forg_1.html When You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail] from Boston Dirt Dogs a Red Sox Nation website
* [http://www.victoriasnelgrove.org Victoria Snelgrove Memorial Fund]