Pelham police chief resigns

richc

richc

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http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18574021/detail.html

PELHAM, Mass. -- The Massachusetts police chief who is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the accidental shooting death of an 8-year-old boy at a gun show has resigned.

Pelham Chief Edward Fleury's resignation was accepted on Monday by the Board of Selectmen, three months after 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj shot himself in the head with an Uzi during a Westfield gun fair.

Fleury's company, COP Firearms & Training, sponsored the event. He has pleaded not guilty.

Fleury's last day will be March 16, when his vacation time runs out. He hasn't been at work since the Oct. 26 shooting, at first taking sick leave and then being placed on vacation leave.

Board Chairman William Martell tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette that Fleury's departure was a "mutual decision."
 
but the Stoughton B.O.S. kept their C.O.P. on the payroll for 3 years, and he was accused of a felony and official misconduct.

And anytime you sponsor an event you incur huge liabilities should something go wrong.

I disagree with the man being charged with a crime. The whole situation sucks for everyone. But the parent brought the child, the parent consented, and there was adult supervision, which IMHO met all the legal requirements.

That being said I don't think a CHILD had any business with an Uzi, but that is my opinion and I am not going to tell others what is there decision to make.
 
I think he deserves to be fired. Here was a man who was using his position to further his private business and he did not take the safety precautions necessary to protect the customers or gun owners in general. His errors will hurt all gun owners. It is obvious he was not very safety conscious as he had had a previous gun accident in a class room setting several years ago. The gun world does not need this kind of person in their midst.
 
Gaffer said:
I think he deserves to be fired. Here was a man who was using his position to further his private business and he did not take the safety precautions necessary to protect the customers or gun owners in general. His errors will hurt all gun owners. It is obvious he was not very safety conscious as he had had a previous gun accident in a class room setting several years ago. The gun world does not need this kind of person in their midst.
Click to expand...

Do you know exactly what happened? Was the kid handed a loaded gun in front of him? Was the kid posing with the gun when he pulled the trigger? Was the kid in direct supervision of an adult?

Did the C.O.P. have direct orders to his range officers to closely watch minors? Did the kids father tell the range officer he could handle a micro uzi?
The news articles were pretty vague on all accounts, I sure as hell can't determine who is truly at fault here other than the father.

I think it's a little premature to point the blame at the C.O.P. unless you know more info about the death than I do.
 
I've talked to a person I trust who was actually on the line that day and while he wasn't looking at the kid when the fatal shot was taken, he saw enough before and after to provide a very good account of what happened. And that's all I'll say as I don't want to get my source into trouble.

Lets just say that a lot of significant 'facts' seem to have changed. The cover up is on in this case. Someone is looking to railroad someone and the 'truth' isn't going to get in the way.
 
Gaffer said:
I think he deserves to be fired. Here was a man who was using his position to further his private business and he did not take the safety precautions necessary to protect the customers or gun owners in general. His errors will hurt all gun owners. It is obvious he was not very safety conscious as he had had a previous gun accident in a class room setting several years ago. The gun world does not need this kind of person in their midst.
Click to expand...

Safety precautions? Were the range safety rules broken? There are only so many safety precautions an RSO can put in place and ensure are followed. Ultimately, safety is up to the individual and in the case of minors, the individual's guardian.

They weren't playing cards, they were shooting firearms.
 
Chris said:
I've talked to a person I trust who was actually on the line that day and while he wasn't looking at the kid when the fatal shot was taken, he saw enough before and after to provide a very good account of what happened. And that's all I'll say as I don't want to get my source into trouble.

Lets just say that a lot of significant 'facts' seem to have changed. The cover up is on in this case. Someone is looking to railroad someone and the 'truth' isn't going to get in the way.
Click to expand...

I hope that person who was actually on the line is planning to testify during the trial. Do you know if he will?
 
MassBites said:
I hope that person who was actually on the line is planning to testify during the trial. Do you know if he will?
Click to expand...

Oddly, neither he, nor any other person he has asked that he knows was there have been so approached although all gave names and statements to the responding police. Now, in all fairness I have no idea how many of the people there at the time he has talked to since, or even how many there were to begin with. But he did make the point of saying that no one he knows has been contacted since. I wasn't drilling him for information, but rather to get a better understanding of what happened.

Unfortunately, I won't recount the exact events as I've been told mainly because I'd have to explain a very HUGE discrepancy in the 'official' story to do so. So, for now, I'll just say that there are some very odd things happening with this. It will be interesting to see what story appears in court.
 
Chris said:
Oddly, neither he, nor any other person he has asked that he knows was there have been so approached although all gave names and statements to the responding police. Now, in all fairness I have no idea how many of the people there at the time he has talked to since, or even how many there were to begin with. But he did make the point of saying that no one he knows has been contacted since. I wasn't drilling him for information, but rather to get a better understanding of what happened.

Unfortunately, I won't recount the exact events as I've been told mainly because I'd have to explain a very HUGE discrepancy in the 'official' story to do so. So, for now, I'll just say that there are some very odd things happening with this. It will be interesting to see what story appears in court.
Click to expand...

If that is the case then I hope he contacts the defense attorney. The sheriff is going to need all the help he can get.
 
Police Chief Support?

The members of the PA Firearm Owners of America (pafoa.org) have a history of contributing to the defense of firearm owners who have been undergoing court proceedings. (you can google "PA soccer mom open carry" as an example).

I admittedly know very little about *this* case, but I would like to at least bring up the possibility that we might consider helping him out somehow.

There, but for luck, goes one of our civilian range owners or association presidents.

/wingnut
 
OK Chris, without divulging sources, and being as generic as possible, since anything you say here is hearsay and not admissible without corroborating evidence, do you, IN YOUR OPINION think the C.O.P. is getting screwed?

just a yes or no is fine with me.
 
Chris said:
I've talked to a person I trust who was actually on the line that day and while he wasn't looking at the kid when the fatal shot was taken, he saw enough before and after to provide a very good account of what happened. And that's all I'll say as I don't want to get my source into trouble.

Lets just say that a lot of significant 'facts' seem to have changed. The cover up is on in this case. Someone is looking to railroad someone and the 'truth' isn't going to get in the way.
Click to expand...

+1 for the same exact reason.

The only fault that I can find with the way the event was run are:

- having an uncertified person (child) designated as an RO. ROs should have been at least of legal age and possess a MA MG License, and preferably NRA Certified as an RO. A trained adult RO would be more likely to stand his/her ground that this gun was inappropriate for this child to shoot.

- advertising the event in such a manner to inflame all the moonbats out there. Bad judgment only but I assure you this will bite all of them in the butt when this case goes to trial, each and every time.
 
CONTACT YOUR FRIEND!!!! You tell your friend to contact the defense attorney! If he knows something and noone is contacting him, he needs to contact someone. It would be a shame if he had some information that could help this man from being wrongfully convicted of a crime and not come forward!
 
Lots of blame for everyone on this. But I would put the father at the top of the list. That being said; I don't think any punishment is warranted for him for obvious reasons - he'll pay the rest of his life. Two things: When giving an automatic or semi-auto to an inexperienced shooter for the first time you should always load one (1) round to gauge the reaction of the shooter. After that first shot, they're done; where did the muzzle go? Found this out the hard way once when I let a teenaged girlfriend shoot a Colt Commander for the first time. After the first bang she spun around with the gun all smiles and sparkling eyes. She swept me with the loaded gun. After I gathered myself I calmly told her she'd done good and filled her in a little better about keeping the gun down range. I can easily see how a weak 8-year-old boy would let a mini-uzi rise up and fire again into his forehead. Someone should have questioned the boy's abilities to handle a gun that recoils and tends to lift like the mini. Have fired one myself, they'll spin like a sixgun if you don't hold on. Nobody meant bad, but someone got caught up in the spirit of the moment and made a poor decision when they put that full-auto gun in a little kid's hands. That person is daddy.
 
[offtopic]

We had a blame casting thread when this incident happened. Derek got angry and closed it after castigating many members. Let's not degenerate into a discussion of who was at fault for this tragedy.
 
Who ever is or isn't to blame, it is a tragic event and hopefully someone will learn from this.

Even though it just seems to be an accident, I think that most can agree that people really need to keep an eye out on what is going on around them and for those parents to be more proactive in letting their children handle fire arms (especially Uzis and other automatic weapons).
 
noidlight said:
CONTACT YOUR FRIEND!!!! You tell your friend to contact the defense attorney! If he knows something and noone is contacting him, he needs to contact someone. It would be a shame if he had some information that could help this man from being wrongfully convicted of a crime and not come forward!
Click to expand...


Agreed. This man needs the truth from all involved to have a chance of saving himself from the system that was a major part of his life.

I suspect he is well aware of the ways in which things get twisted in court. +1 Rob.
 

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