SPRINGFIELD - Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was indicted for involuntary manslaughter Thursday for his role in the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy who shot himself accidentally at a Westfield gun show in October.
Domenico Spano, of New Milford., Conn., indicted Thursday for involuntary manslaughter in the machine gun death of 8-year-old Christopher K. Bazilj, is shown in this October 2005 photo with his son Michael, then 12, at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club’s annual machine gun shoot.Also indicted for involuntary manslaughter was the Westfield Sportsman’s Club, where the death occurred, and two other individuals, identified in court records as Carl Giuffre, of Hartford, and Domenico Spano of New Milford, Conn.
Fleury and the sportsman’s club were each also indicted on four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18. …
The range was clearly negligent in allowing an 8-year old to fire a FA micro Uzi without proper spotting. It has already been posted in various forums that proper FA training involves an initial mag load of only a few rounds, and that the spotter should stand alongside the shooter with his hand covering the weapon in such a way that he can take control if it starts to get away from the shooter.
Honestly, I don’t know if that’s really how it should be done, but it makes perfect sense. And the 8 year old was being supervised by a 15 year old minor.
But I don’t know how responsible the police chief was, or the people that supplied the weapons.
Regardless of how you feel about gun rights, a little boy died because he was placed in a situation that he wasn’t old enough or experienced enough to handle. This accident was completely preventable if basic safety precautions had been taken, and people had put a little thought into what they were doing beforehand.
I’m a bit confused, what was the Police Chief’s role in this particular tragic incident?
Never mind, they made it sound in that poorly written article as if the Police Department had anything to do with the shoot. But as it turns out the Chief owned the company that co-sponsored the event.
I have personally know the Chief (the one of the other person charged) for a few years and have attended this event for a couple as well. The Chief is the Sponsor of the event. The town he is Chief in is about a 25 minute drive from where this shoot was located.
I think this was more of a witch hunt then a legal case. Its a tragedy for everyone.
So not only does he have to live with the guilt of the boy dying on his watch but now his career and the rest of his life will be in ruins too. What good does that do?
Well, if he broke laws and that directly led to the death of a child than he should be prosecuted, shouldn’t he? If letting a minor shoot a FA weapon is illegal then he broke the law, right? I mean, we keep saying there are enough gun laws on the books and we should start enforcing the ones we have…
And even if he isn’t criminally convicted, a civil lawsuit for gross negligence and wrongful death on the part of the range and the providers of the FA weapons would most likely be filed, and most likely won by the plaintiff. The burden in a civil suit is not “beyond a reasonable doubt” but the lesser standard of “the preponderance of the evidence”. That means if there was a 51% chance his negligent actions led to the death, he is liable.
Go ahead, put a full auto Mini Uzi in the hands of an 8 year old and see if he can handle it. If he shoots himself or someone else, just say “oops, I feel really bad about it” and that will absolve you of accountability.
I agree the whole thing sucks, and before it’s over his life and the lives of those around him will be ruined. I’ll bet he sincerely regrets letting a lack of proper supervision cause the death of a little boy. But that’s still not an excuse. This was not just a random accident, but a preventable death if people in charge had just shown a damn bit of common sense.
Jesus fu@%&$g Christ!! As if the family and everybody hasn’t suffered enough!!! It was a tragic accident. I’m sure that the boy’s family and all who was involved is torn up over this and that should be punishment enough. Leave the fricken courts out of it!!:mad::mad:
It depends on his level of knowledge about the situation. Clearly he shouldn’t have selected a Mini Uzi for his son to shoot, and probably shouldn’t have brought him there to shoot anything. If anything an 8 year old should have been nor more than a spectator. But if he was given no reason to believe there was a danger, it’s possible he had no clue what could happen.
Let’s say I pay a carnival worker to belt my kid in a ride and latch the door properly, and he fails to do so, or the ride has a mechanical failure, and my child falls out and is killed, should I be charged? I don’t think so.
Now let’s say my child is too small for the safety system to restrain him properly. Not being an expert on rides, I don’t realize this and I ask the attendant to put him on the ride and buckle him in. The attendant fails to tell me the child is too small, and during the ride he slips out of the restraint and is killed. Am I responsible? Again, no.
Now, let’s say there is a height restriction and my child doesn’t meet it. I am aware of this and ask for him to be placed on the ride anyway. The attendant says nothing and the same thing happens. We are both responsible.
Last case, let’s say the attendant tells me the child is too small, I insist he make an exception and he does. Same thing happens. We are both responsible.
The last two cases put questionable legal liability on the parent, because of deliberately ignored warnings. But I would venture to say that in most cases, only the carnival attendant would be held legally liable. It’s is there responsibility to enforce their own safety rules.
He brought his 8 year old to shoot machine guns he is no less responsible for what happened than those being charged, he is possibly bears more responsibility since he freely brought his kid.
IMHO, I think the charges are BS and a political move for the DA. This was a tragic accident that is being turned into a witch hunt of blame.
I wish this type of thing would never happen. It all comes down to the individual. Everyone on a range is a Range Safety Officer and can call “cease fire!!” if a safety violation is observed. God help those involved.
This is as short-sighted a comment as one will find anywhere, ever. The negligence was almost beyond compare. That coming from someone who was shooting at 8. Thankfully, neither my father, nor the other adults around me, who did possess class III weapons, ever gave me one to fire. With a full clip no less!
Because we distance ourselves from death as a collective society nowadays, (nursing homes, assisted living, hospitals, butchers, grocery stores etc.) we are designed to be extremely uncomfortable with the happening by itself, and more so with there being no one to blame.
People die. Sometimes tragically. People fuck up. Sometimes really really bad. Not everyone has to go to jail for it every time. There are larger fish to fry, which by itself doesn’t absolve the negligence or minimize the actions of those involved, but… come on. Why not charge the city, and the county, then the state for letting something like this go on. From what I understand, it isn’t like the father, chief etc are flippant about the ordeal. I’m confident they get what they did wrong.
The idea behind prison is rehabilitation right? I mean that’s what is crammed down our throats everyday. I doubt that father, that chief, or those people will EVER forget this. I’d say a similar situation is likely to never happen again with those involved. Isn’t that whats important?
The social stigma the father and those “responsible” are going to be facing will be sheer torture. Prison would actually shield him from that in a way.
My opinion is based upon what I know of the case, which is admittedly not much. If I’m missing some tremendous detail that any of you would think would cause me, a father and husband myself, to change my mind I welcome the information.
Hug your children men. I’ve lost a 7 year old niece already this year.
Of course, but you are still looking past the relevant facts.
As an avid shooter I will again say that this is reprehensible. Someone certainly could go to jail, both for their horrendous judgment as well as stupidity and disregard for the life of an innocent child. Tell me, does it take a rocket scientist to foresee trouble with an 8 year old firing a full auto Uzi pistol? Should mature, educated firearm enthusiasts even need to debate this point??
I hug my 5 year old son countless times each day, as each day with him is a gift.
As much as I am against frivolous lawsuits especially as it relates to the 2nd amendment this was situation which could have been prevented and there was negligence involved. All of you guys screaming that it’s wrong, or they have suffered are missing the point. There was a lack of supervision and they were irresponsible for not ensuring that a properly trained and QUALIFIED Range Safety Officer was on the line. Not a 15 year old child. Therefore they were negligent because this could have been prevented. We needn’t wonder when people attack gun owners as irresponsible when stuff like this hapens.
Also, for those of you who live in that area are select fire weapons legal in Massachusetts?
In Massachusetts the only way to own a “Select Fire Weapon”, you need to apply for a “Machine Gun” license. Only the Chief of Police in that (you reside in) town/city can approve that. Not many (Chiefs) approve them at all; and even fewer are given out.
