The Somerville police officer who shot and killed a knife-wielding woman during a domestic violence call last month was protecting himself and a firefighter who had fallen right in front of her, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said yesterday in finding that the shooting was justified.
The officer, Dante DiFronzo, fired once, hitting 33-year-old Carol Kingsley in the head, according to a statement by Leone, the most detailed account of the shooting to date.
That's odd. I thought they were trained not to shoot at the head.
It's hard to picture that scene, the fireman falling at her feet and all. Here are some more details.
The second call came about 6:30 a.m., saying Kingsley had pulled a knife on her boyfriend and was trying to set his clothes on fire, the report said. By the time officers Marc DiFava and Jose Ramirez arrived at the Sycamore Terrace apartment, the fire alarm had caused the evacuation of the apartment building’s residents, but Kingsley had locked herself inside. officers were preparing to burst through the door when Kingsley opened it and stabbed them, forcing them outside, according to the report. Because they thought the house was on fire, DiFranzo and Anzalone went back inside and broke through the door. At one point, Anzalone fell, according to the report, and Kingsley stood over him holding two knives.
DiFranzo pulled out his gun, ordering her to drop the knives. She did, but picked them up again and lunged at him, according to the report.
Wait a minute, that lunging part. Where have I heard that one before? Oh, yeah, in almost every single incident of justified police shooting in which the cop has a gun and the bad guy has some other weapon, the bad guy "lunges."
I realize some of these shootings are truly justified. I also realize I don't know one way or the other. But it seems to me the "lunging" bit, the "shooting in the head" bit, the "helpless fireman at the feet of a madwoman" bit, are all just a bit too much to swallow.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Knives and fire are bad news for women.
ReplyDeleteMikeB: “That's odd. I thought they were trained not to shoot at the head.”
ReplyDeleteHe could have been shooting for center of mass and missed bad. That is the point of shooting COM- it has the biggest margin of error.
"That's odd. I thought they were trained not to shoot at the head."
ReplyDeleteThey are. But when your head gets in the way, your head gets shot.
Usually when someone lunges at you, they are bent over slightly, leading with their head, hence the woman was shot in the head.
Good riddance to a violent criminal. Oh, and shooting someone in the head, while difficult, is also the fastest way to incapacitate them. Good shootin'!
ReplyDeleteDon't want to get shot by the cops don't move aggressively towards them while armed, especially if you were ordered to drop the weapon and instead picked them back up and went toward the cop.
This woman is dead because of her actions. She is responsible.
It's the "lunging" I'm telling you. Mark my words.
ReplyDelete