CHICOPEE
-- A police officer shot and
seriously injured Monday afternoon during a special weapons and
tactics training exercise just outside Westover Air Reserve Base is in good
condition at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, acting Chief Thomas
Charette said.
Charette declined to elaborate on the shooting Tuesday morning and would not release the injured officer’s name at the request of his family.
Charette declined to elaborate on the shooting Tuesday morning and would not release the injured officer’s name at the request of his family.
This afternoon he released a short statement
saying the accident happened at 2 p.m. during a Tactical Unit Training
exercise.
"As a result of the accident the officer
received a gunshot wound to the side of his face," he said in writing.
Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni
said Monday the shooting is being investigated by Chicopee and state police. He
said it is standard procedure in such a shooting for him to ask the state
police ballistics and reconstruction teams to be called to assist.
Mayor Michael Bissonnette could not be immediately reached for comment. He wrote on his Facebook page, however, that the injuries were "accidental and non-life-threatening."
Bissonnette thanked Chicopee police and Chicopee Fire Department emergency medical personnel “for their quick work in getting him to (the) emergency room.”
The accident occurred during an exercise being held at long-vacant homes off James Street outside Westover Air Reserve Base.
The housing complex, which is made up of mostly duplexes and four-apartment units, was given to the city by the U.S. Navy about two years ago. It has remained vacant and many roads leading to the complex have been closed to traffic.
Mayor Michael Bissonnette could not be immediately reached for comment. He wrote on his Facebook page, however, that the injuries were "accidental and non-life-threatening."
Bissonnette thanked Chicopee police and Chicopee Fire Department emergency medical personnel “for their quick work in getting him to (the) emergency room.”
The accident occurred during an exercise being held at long-vacant homes off James Street outside Westover Air Reserve Base.
The housing complex, which is made up of mostly duplexes and four-apartment units, was given to the city by the U.S. Navy about two years ago. It has remained vacant and many roads leading to the complex have been closed to traffic.
Charette did not say what type of weapons or
ammunition were used in the training exercise.
The state Municipal Police Training Committee,
which trains officers for town, city and college police forces, follows a
strict protocol in training exercises that bans any use of live ammunition or
weapons that can fire, said Terrel Harris, spokesman for the committee.
“There are very strigent standards...Live weapons are only allowed on firearms ranges. In senairo situations students and instructors are prohibited of having weapons of capable of firing a bullet,” he said.
Typically the training committee uses mock weapons that are color coded so police know they are not real, Harris said.
“There are very strigent standards...Live weapons are only allowed on firearms ranges. In senairo situations students and instructors are prohibited of having weapons of capable of firing a bullet,” he said.
Typically the training committee uses mock weapons that are color coded so police know they are not real, Harris said.
