RSS 2.0 FeedThe Death Penalty For Illegal Gambling
by Doug MataconisLast January, Salvatore Culosi was shot to death by members of the Fairfax County Virginia SWAT Team in the middle of a sting operation against illegal sports gambling. Now, the County’s own police force has acknowledged that it went over the top:
Using a SWAT team to arrest a suspected sports gambler was unnecessary, and police could have used “lower-risk, less complex arrest techniques,” Fairfax County’s police chief said yesterday in a report on the fatal shooting of an unarmed man.
The death of Salvatore J. Culosi outside his Fair Oaks townhouse Jan. 24, 2006, brought criticism on Fairfax police for their first-ever unintentional shooting death and launched a nearly year-long internal investigation. That investigation has resulted in the shooter, Officer Deval V. Bullock, facing a three-week suspension without pay and a transfer out of the SWAT unit, numerous police sources said.
Fairfax Chief David M. Rohrer issued a 41-page report detailing the circumstances of the shooting, the conclusions reached by police investigators and a series of policy changes made as a result of the case.
The chief said police have developed a “comprehensive risk assessment form” to help determine when the SWAT team should be used, and a committee has been established to examine incidents involving use of serious force.
Salvatore and Anita Culosi, parents of the shooting victim, said last week that they plan to sue Fairfax County for wrongful death unless their demand for $12 million is met. They declined to speak yesterday, but their attorney, Bernard J. DiMuro, said Rohrer’s report “confirms that Dr. Culosi’s death was inexcusable and was the result of irresponsible police practices that unnecessarily endanger the community.
Just to understand what happened to Mr. Culosi, consider this:
Culosi emerged from his townhouse about 9:30 p.m. to pay the undercover detective his weekend winnings. The detective signaled Bullock and another SWAT officer, who pulled up behind the detective. Bullock stepped out, his door hit him, and he fired one round through Culosi’s side and into his chest, killing him instantly.
The officer was not charged with a crime and his punishment from the force will be 120 hours of suspension and a transfer out of the SWAT Team. Mr. Culosi, on the other hand, is dead.
H/T: The Agitator
Why do you need a swat team to arrest a bookie?
The only way that this man could have been shot is if the cop’s gun was loaded, had a bulllet in the barrel, had the safety off, had the gun pointed directly at the victim. Now that’s a lot of unusual circumstances. The undercover cop was standing right next to the victim. He could have just grabbed him.I just think they are all nuts.
Comment by marvin — January 22, 2007 @ 4:29 amI forgot to add that he also had to have his finger on the trigger. Door hit him in the ass..seems like a good fairey tale.
Comment by marvin — January 22, 2007 @ 4:32 am