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Post by Bertie on Jun 13, 2006 11:53:39 GMT -5
OXNARD, California (AP) -- Two police officers patrolling a beach in an SUV on Monday ran over and killed a sunbather, authorities said.
The officers did not immediately realize they ran over the woman and continued driving, police Cmdr. Tom Chronister said in a statement.
The officers, who were not immediately identified, had stopped on a small berm of sand to watch a swimmer who they believed to be in distress. When they saw the swimmer was fine, they drove over the berm and apparently over the woman's head, authorities said.
A witness called the Oxnard Fire Department to report the woman was bleeding on the beach just south of the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Resort. The woman, Cindy Conolly, 49, of Sioux City, Iowa, was in town for her son's wedding, said Mike Feiler, senior deputy medical examiner in the Ventura County coroner's office.
An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. The officers have been placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
Oxnard is located about 55 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
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Post by WaTcHeR on Jan 31, 2007 12:54:19 GMT -5
A police officer who ran over and killed a sunbather on a Southern California beach will not be charged, prosecutors said.
Investigators could not prove negligence by Senior Officer Frank Brisslinger when he drove a sport utility vehicle over a small berm and hit 49-year-old Cindy Conolly last June on Mandalay Beach, according to a report released by District Attorney Gregory Totten.
"It is a fact of human nature that on occasion, mistakes will occur, sometimes with tragic results," Totten said in the report, released Wednesday.
Investigators found that Conolly was visible to Brisslinger for less than 0.12 of a second before he struck her on the beach northwest of Los Angeles. He and his partner told investigators they didn't realize what had happened until a 911 call summoned them back to the scene 20 minutes later.
The report noted that the Oxnard Police Department had never trained its officers on how to safely navigate vehicles on the beach.
Conolly's children have filed a $10 million negligence claim against the city over the lack of specialized training.
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