The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 24

The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2004 AFTER THE TRAGEDY B4 City Region CROWD -CONTROL CASUALTY A precious life, lost senselessly, is mourned 1 'I don't know what its chances of passage are, but there are a lot of people who are just fed Stephen J. Murphy Councilor at large Fan-led violence penalties proposed VIOLENCE Continued from Page Bl seven days in jail and $500 fines for ignoring commands to disperse to 30 days in jail and $2,000 fines for vandalism and disorderli-ness. "I don't know what its chances of passage are," Murphy said, "but there are a lot of people who are just fed up." The measure, proposed after an Emerson student was killed by police trying to disperse rowdy crowds of about 80,000 celebrating the Red Sox pennant win last week, has struck a chord, as council members and other elected officials grapple with the second post-game tragedy in a year. James "Red Sox fans need to learn how to celebrate and how to have a good time," Finnell said. "How can you say you love the Red Sox and start tearing down the city? If you really loved this team, you'd be kissing the city." Law enforcement also must take stock of its actions, he said.

"Make sure that people are trained in this kind of situation. It can't happen again; it can't," Finnell said. "This is the second time in the year that we've celebrated and somebody's died." After the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in February, 21-year-old James Grabowski from West Newbury was killed when he was struck by a car during a postgame melee near Northeastern University. Mindful of that tragedy, police pledged to have a larger, better-coordinated presence on the streets following the comeback triumph of the Red Sox over the Yankees. An estimated 80,000 people, mostly college-age, flooded the Fenway Park and Kenmore Square neighborhoods after the victory.

When fans started setting fires, climbing the ballpark walls, and throwing bottles at police, witnesses said, police responded with pepper pellets fired from compressed-air guns. Authorities said Boston police had never previously used the crowd-control weapons outside training. "This week was supposed to be the best week ever after the Sox won, but now I can't even watch the games," Gabrielson said. "It has been ruined for me. How can I celebrate the city and our boys? Now, one of our friends is dead." By Brian MacQuarrie GLOBE STAFF and Julie Polovina GLOBE CORRESPONDENT EAST BRIDGEWATER -Across from the high school she left three years ago, in a church where muffled sobs punctuated a somber silence, Victoria E.

Snelgrove was recalled yesterday as a young woman of promise, energy, and generosity. The funeral for the 21-year-old Emerson College junior, fatally shot by a pepper pellet fired by po-lice outside Fenway Park last week, included harsh criticism for the destructive fans who tarnished the celebration of the Red Sox's pennant-clinching win over the New York Yankees. "Why did this have to happen? I don't know why" the Rev. Walter F. Keymont said in his eulogy at St.

John's Catholic Church. "Some people feel it's their God-given right to riot, to destroy property, and cause mayhem. There are a lot of questions I don't know the answer to." In the church, where 500 mourners filled a semicircle of pews, words and thoughts of family, friends, and dignitaries were focused on a victim who commuted to Boston from her home each day to pursue a dream of becoming a broadcast journalist. "Torie was sensitive, sincere, and a compassionate individual," said Danielle Kotzias, who described herself as Snelgrove's best friend at Emerson. "She cared a lot about what was going on.

It is hard to find people that truly care about you." As an organ played "Here I Am, Lord," a silver casket was borne into the church, as her parents and family, several of them weeping, followed in a somber procession. Among the mourners were Gover- GLOBE STAFF PHOTOSUZANNE KREITER who was accidentally killed by Boston police trying to curb fan East Bridgewater church after her funeral yesterday. Snelgrove died after being shot through the eye by a pellet filled with pepper powder as police tried to disperse tens of thousands of people who had gathered near the ballpark early Thursday, following the Red Sox victory. Boston police are investigating the shooting, which they have described as an accidental death involving a "less lethal" weapon. Her death prompted an outpouring of pleas for celebrating fans to behave better and for police to better control the crowds if the Red Sox defeat the St.

Louis Cardinals for Boston's first World Series win in 86 years. Several students at the funeral said their college-age peers and the police must learn from Snelgrove's death. 2 who fired pellet guns untrained in use, sources say her," said Rachel Gabrielson, codi-rector of the college's student news organization. "I can't say I've ever been to a funeral where people have been just so in shock," said Brett Finnell, an Emerson senior. "This one just kind of hit me.

Everybody you could see they all had a question on their face, and the question was why. It wasn't like a closure thing. It was, Everybody just was stunned." Some of Snelgrove's friends wore pictures of her attached to their lapels. By the end of the service, most of the students were praying, crying, passing around tissues, and holding one another. Then they joined a procession to the Brockton cemetery where Snelgrove was buried.

grove was killed, but would not identify them. "The officers used the weapon within the scope of what was purported to be the safe intended purpose of the weapon," Drechsler said. "That was their intent. Certainly no one in any way, shape, or form ever anticipated mis tragedy would occur." The following account of how events unfolded on Lansdowne Street was drawn from information provided by the sources. As crowds celebrating the Red Sox victory over the Yankees spi-raled out of control early Thursday, Robert O'Toole went to a supply vehicle on Brookline Avenue and pulled out two of the department's new FN303 pepper-pellet guns.

O'Toole asked nearby officers if they were trained to use the weapons, and Silta and Stanton said they were not. O'Toole handed one to Silta, who began firing, and O'Toole, untrained himself, began firing the other one from the hip, at people climbing the Green Monster. A few minutes later, OToole handed his weapon to Stanton, who did not fire the gun. The other officer, Milien, already had a weapon and fired it It was not clear which offi- I -jC tt PELLET GUNS Continued from PageAl Almost four hours after the Globe asked Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole to comment on its findings yesterday, she announced that the shootings will be reviewed by an independent committee led by former US attorney Donald Stern and Janice W.

Howe, his colleague at the law firm of Bingham McCutchen. "By taking this step, I hope I have reinforced my promise to the Snelgrove family and the city of Boston that I am committed to an open and transparent process of accountability," the commissioner said in a statement released shortly before 8 p.m. She is not related to Robert OToole. She also said that Robert O'Toole was moved to desk duty pending the outcome of the investigation. Through a spokeswoman, the commissioner declined to be interviewed.

Emerson College student Victoria E. Snelgrove died hours after one of the pellets struck her in the eye early Thursday, as she was celebrating the Red Sox victory over the New York Yankees with revelers on Lansdowne Street ONE YEAR LATER Mourners of Victoria Snelgrove, revelry near Fenway Park, left an nor Mitt Romney, Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston, and Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole, who sat in the front row. The death has hit hard in East Bridgewater, a quiet town 30 miles from Boston.

Snelgrove, who would have turned 22 on Friday, was a 2001 graduate of East Bridgewater High School, where yesterday a message board outside read: "Torie we will miss you EBHS." About 25 Emerson students rode a bus to the funeral from Boston, reminiscing about a friend who had studied hard and lifted the spirits of her fellow journalism majors with warmth and sincerity. "Maybe some people are too beautiful to be here on Earth for long; God had a different plan for The Globe reported yesterday that another pellet pierced the forehead of a 19-year-old Boston University student, Kapila Bhamidipati. A pellet also tore a hole in the cheek of 24-year-old Cambridge resident Paul Gately. Gately and Bhamidipati are recovering at home. Robert OToole's lawyer, Timothy M.

Burke, would not comment on his client's actions the night Snelgrove was killed or whether the deputy superintendent was trained in how to use the pepper-pellet gun, but Burke released a statement from O'Toole about Snelgrove's death. "I am personally devastated that the actions of the Boston police played any role in causing this tragedy and bringing such pain to her family," the statement said. "My hopes and prayers go out to her family." Family members of Stanton and Silta said they would not comment. A home telephone number for Milien could not be found. Thomas Drechsler, a lawyer who represents the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, said he represents two of the officers who fired the pellet guns on Lansdowne Street on the night Snel Yankees player influenced the decision to file charges in Boston, Nelson said, "I think you can answer that one." "This has always been one of my favorite cities but it's a shame that this tarnished it a little bit" he said Garcia declined to comment The two former teammates, both of whom were traded by the Yankees after last season, were silent in court yesterday as their lawyers agreed to the deal offered by prosecutors under which charges will be dropped in six months if the conditions are met Nelson, 37, now with the Texas Rangers, and Garcia, 28, who was let go by the Baltimore Orioles in August were charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after Fenway groundskeeper Paul K.

Williams 25, of Deny, N.H, was punched in a late-inning fight during the 2003 American League Championship Series. Prosecutors said the fight be- Grabowski, 21, was killed after an alleged drunk driver plowed a sports utility vehicle into a crowd of revelers celebrating the New England Patriots Super Bowl victory in January. Thomas M. Menino refused to comment on the penalty proposal. Mayor Thomas M.

Menino and a spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department declined to comment, saying they were not familiar with details of the proposal. "Clearly we have a problem right now, and we're looking for reasonable solutions. If this is one, I'm not sure yet," said Councilor Michael Ross, who represents the Fenway neighborhood, where both deaths occurred. Some specialists say stiffer penalties are unlikely to dissuade revelers who get carried away in the heat of the moment. "Stephen Murphy is correct in understanding that certainty of punishment reduces crime," said Jack Levin, director of The Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University.

"The problem is that rioters don't think they'll get caught, so a minimum mandatory sentence means nothing." Levin said the best way to deter riots is with a strong police presence. "It would be much more effective to convince would-be rioters that they will definitely get caught and they will absolutely be prosecuted," Levin said. his innocence. "We'll end up resolving this matter in the context of the civil suit, which is what I predicted early on in this case," Merberg said. Prosecutors said that while they have evidence that Nelson and Garcia punched Williams, the blows did not cause a lasting injury.

Prosecutors also said they do not know who kicked or stomped Williams with metal baseball cleats. In a counterclaim, Nelson said Williams instigated the fight after hitting and spitting on him. Prosecutors dropped the charge Friday, saying they had insufficient evidence to find Williams guilty of assault and battery on Nelson. The pending civil lawsuit that Williams filed against Nelson and Garcia contends the brawl cost Williams $33,000 in medical costs. Mac Daniel can be reached at mdanielgLbe.com.

Globe correspondent Jack Encarnacao contributed to this report. peated several times throughout the training manual we provide while we teach the class and reinforced throughout the class and during the live fire qualifications." Mills said that FN303 weapons have been successfully used without serious injury or death on several occasions, including at sports events such as the 2003 Super Bowl and at the University of Maryland at College Park, after the school won the NCAA basketball championship and riots ensued on campus. When asked if the manufacturer would ever recommend shooting the FN-303 into a dense crowd, Mills said it would depend on the circumstances, but if "somebody in a dense crowd is shooting a ball-bearing at you or throwing a Molotov cocktail at you, it the FN-303 can shoot accurately in a crowd." The FN303 projectile is "fin-stabilized," Mills said, which gives it more accuracy than a paintball gun. Andrea Estes and Suzanne Smalley of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Donovan Slack can be reached at dslackglobe.com.

Under the deal offered by Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, both players agreed to be evaluated to see if they need anger management counseling. If they do, they must return to court to have it ordered. If they don't the anger management requirement is dropped. Both men are also required to perform 50 hours of community service, which can be performed outside of Massachusetts.

In addition, their lawyers had $500 in court costs for each player waived. Judge Paul Leary, who accepted the deal, said the case "shouldn't be treated any differently just because it was on television." "Things happen," he said, adding that he believed both men had performed more community service as Major League Baseball players before the brawl "than that three-minute incident in the bullpen." James A. Merberg, Nelson's lawyer, said the pitcher maintains Deal reached with players charged in Fenway bullpen melee Kathleen M. O'Toole has ordered an outside review. cers fired the pellets that hit Snelgrove and injured Gately and Bhamidipati.

The manufacturer of the guns, FN Herstal, trained 29 Boston police officers to use the weapons, said Bucky Mills, deputy director of law enforcement sales, marketing, and training for the company. Mills said Boston police have not confirmed to the company that its weapons were used in the shootings that night. "During this training, officers are told never to intentionally target the neck or head, because death or serious injury can occur," Mills said. "The warnings are re GLOBE STAFF PHOTOGEORGE RlZER sion audience. Earlier in the game, after pitchers for both teams hit or narrowly missed opposing batters including Garcia a bench-clearing brawl ended with then-Yankee assistant manager Don Zimmer being thrown to the ground by Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez.

By Mac Daniel GLOBE STAFF Former New York Yankees Jeff Nelson and Karim Garcia avoided going to trial yesterday on assault charges following last year's Fenway Park bullpen melee, agreeing to perform 50 hours of community service and undergo anger management counseling, if deemed necessary. But on the way out of town, Nelson lashed out saying that the media exaggerated what happened in the Yankees bullpen during Game 3 of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox. "We told our story at the beginning and you guys were the ones who twisted it around, so what can I say?" Nelson said after leaving Roxbury District Court. "I dont know how it got this far in the first place. You guys made the biggest deal out of this.

You should just interview yourselves." Asked if he thought being a Lawyer Gerard Malone (left), former Yankees Karim Garcia and Jeff Nelson, and lawyer James Merberg listened in court. tween Nelson, Garcia, and Williams began when Nelson confronted Williams about twirling a "rally towel" and cheering for the Red Sox inside the Yankees bullpen. Garcia, an outfielder, leapt over the bullpen wall and allegedly joined the fracas, some of which was broadcast to a national televi.