Police Chief Acquitted in Connection to Training Demonstration Shooting

A Florida jury has found Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis not guilty of misdemeanor culpable negligence in connection to the death of Mary Knowlton. Knowlton was killed by former officer Lee Coel during a police training demonstration for Chamber of Commerce members in August 2016. Lewis’s attorneys argued that the chief shouldn’t be held responsible for Coel’s actions and a jury of four men and two women agreed.