Victoria E. Snelgrove (October 29, 1982 – October 21, 2004) was an American

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

student at Emerson College in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, who died after being shot by officer Rochefort Milien of the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...

using a

less-lethal weapon Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventiona ...

. The shooting took place following the victory of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in the

2004 American League Championship Series The 2004 American League Championship Series was the Major League Baseball playoff series to decide the American League champion for the 2004 season, and the right to play in the 2004 World Series. A rematch of the 2003 American League Champion ...

. In 2005, the city of Boston reached a $5.1 million wrongful death settlement with Snelgrove's family. After filing a wrongful death suit for $10 million against FN Herstal (the manufacturer of the weapon), the family agreed to an out-of-court settlement in June of 2006; the final amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

Killing

In the early hours of October 21, 2004, after the

defeated the

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

in Game 7 of the

, the

took action around

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

to control a crowd that had gathered, some of whom were throwing bottles at the police. Approximately 90 minutes after the game ended, officer Rochefort Milien shot Snelgrove with an

FN 303 The FN 303 is a semi-automatic less-lethal riot gun designed and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. The FN 303 uses compressed air to fire projectiles from a 15-round drum magazine. It is designed to incapacitate the target through b ...

blunt

trauma Trauma most often refers to: * Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source * Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic i ...

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...

projectile. Snelgrove, who was not acting in an unruly manner, was not Milien's intended target; he had fired at a different person in the crowd. The crowd-control projectile hit Snelgrove in the eye, causing her to bleed heavily. Ambulances were blocked by the excessive crowds, which still refused to clear the area, preventing prompt medical attention from arriving from the dense medical area only a half-mile (0.8 km) away. Snelgrove died at 12:50 p.m. EDT at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, about 12 hours after being shot. According to the autopsy, the pellet opened a three-quarter-inch (1.9 cm) hole in the bone behind the eye, broke into nine pieces, and damaged the right side of her brain. Boston's Police Commissioner,

Kathleen O'Toole Kathleen M. O'Toole ( Horton; born May 9, 1954) is an American law enforcement officer who served as Chief of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) from June 23, 2014 to January 4, 2018. She was previously the first female commissioner of the Bost ...

, placed Milien on paid leave. O'Toole later attended the hour-long funeral on October 26, 2004, at St. John's

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Church in

East Bridgewater, Massachusetts East Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,440 at the 2020 census. It is also a part of Massachusetts' 8th congressional district, of which it is represented by Stephen Lynch. History The ...

, along with

Mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a mayor to a four- ...

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...

and

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

Mitt Romney.

Investigation and aftermath

Commissioner O'Toole accepted the police department's responsibility, while condemning the "punks" who participated in the near- riot. The investigation into Snelgrove's death was led by

Donald K. Stern Donald K. Stern is an American attorney who served as the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts from 1993 to 2001. He was best known for prosecuting mob figures, including fugitive Winter Hill Gang The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of ...

, a former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

best known for prosecuting

mob Mob or MOB may refer to: Behavioral phenomena * Crowd * Smart mob, a temporary self-structuring social organization, coordinated through telecommunication Crime and law enforcement * American Mafia, also known as the Mob * Irish Mob, a US crimin ...

figures, including fugitive

Winter Hill Gang The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of organized crime figures in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. The gang members and leadership are predominantly Irish-American and Italian-American descent. The organization itself derives its ...

leader

James "Whitey" Bulger James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (; September 3, 1929 – October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Bos ...

. Through the investigation, Officer Milien was identified as the person who fired the shot that killed Snelgrove. The report from the investigation outlined 12 recommendations for the Boston Police Department, including a review of use-of-force policies and improved training for less-lethal weapons. On May 2, 2005, the city of Boston announced a $5.1 million

wrongful death Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, ...

settlement for her family's lawsuit. On September 12, 2005, the district attorney for Suffolk County, Daniel F. Conley, announced that he would not prosecute any of the officers involved. Four days later, Commissioner O'Toole demoted the police superintendent who was in charge the night of the shooting to captain and suspended two officers, including Milien, for 45 days without pay. The deputy superintendent outside Fenway Park at the time of the incident was also criticized for poor decisions that led to Snelgrove's death, but had already retired. , Officer Milien was still on the Boston police force. The weapon that killed Snelgrove was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal ( FN Herstal). Because of the incident, several police forces, such as the

Seattle Police Department The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States, except for the campus of the University of Washington, which is under the responsibility of its own police department ...

, discontinued use of this weapon. In June of 2006, a $10 million wrongful death suit between FN Herstal and the Snelgrove family was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Boston police never used their FN 303s again, and destroyed them in 2007, stating that they were more powerful and lethal than had been anticipated.

Memorials

Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan dedicated their book ''Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle The Historic 2004 Season'' to Snelgrove; the dedication reads simply: "For Victoria Snelgrove, Red Sox fan." Red Sox

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Trot Nixon The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is somet ...

stated that he would have traded Game 7 of the

2004 ALCS The 2004 American League Championship Series was the Major League Baseball playoff series to decide the American League champion for the 2004 season, and the right to play in the 2004 World Series. A rematch of the 2003 American League Champion ...

to have her back. Snelgrove's parents established the Victoria Snelgrove Memorial Fund, "a non-profit organization to carry forward her spirit and concern for others," which awards scholarships to students at

East Bridgewater High School East Bridgewater Jr./Sr. High School is a public secondary school located at 143 Plymouth Street in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. The school serves students in grades 7–12 and has an approximate enrollment of 1000 students. Th ...

and Emerson College. In April 2018, a

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairse ...

in East Bridgewater was opened and named after Snelgrove.

Notes

References

External links