A fatal second chance

A POLICE officer fires a "less lethal projectile round" into a surging crowd. A college student dies. Is this death a horrible mistake or the result of arrogant incompetence?

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The story is still unfolding. But Victoria E. Snelgrove, 21, is dead, and the City of Boston will likely pay a price for what happened near Fenway Park after the Red Sox won the American League pennant last week.

Police must protect themselves and the public. Rioters must be subdued. But the law enforcement officers trying to quell a chaotic crowd require highly trained, cool-headed supervisors, and they must be fully trained themselves before using a new, supposedly less lethal weapon.

What happened under the supervision of Robert E. O'Toole, the Boston police deputy superintendent in charge of crowd control and police deployment around Fenway Park, is troubling:

At approximately 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 21, an unruly crowd of students gathered on Lansdowne Street; some lit fires and overturned cars. The Boston Globe reported that "O'Toole grabbed a pepper-pellet gun from a police supply vehicle and fired at a group of students who had climbed the girders of the Green Monster." He handed his gun to a patrolman who told the commander he was not trained to use the gun and did not fire it. But O'Toole handed a gun to another patrolmen, who fired it, even though he, too, told O'Toole he wasn't trained to use it.

A shot from a pepper pellet gun hit Snelgrove, an Emerson College student, in the eye, killing her.

Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole called the young woman's death "a horrible mistake" and this week appointed an independent committee to review the events of the night. She reassigned Robert E. O'Toole (who is no relation) to desk duty.

Part of the investigation should focus on why Robert E. O'Toole was promoted in the first place -- given his past history and the region's sensitivity over crowd control after a man died last January near Northeastern University in the aftermath of a New England Patriots Super Bowl victory.

In 1986, while a deputy superintendent in charge of special operations, Robert E. O'Toole was videotaped by a television news crew slapping a Boston Red Sox fan in the face during a World Series celebration. He was demoted to his civil service rank of sergeant in 1987, by Police Commissioner Francis M. Roache after complaints from the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association that Roache was protecting him.

In 1992 O'Toole was reassigned to William J. Bratton's personal staff after Bratton took a job as number two man in the Boston Police Department. Bratton went on to become police commissioner in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.

Asked about O'Toole on his first day on the job in 1992, Bratton told reporters, "Sergeant O'Toole, five years ago, committed one of the most egregious acts a police officer can do in the line of duty: He struck a citizen." Bratton justified the reassignment, calling it "a sign to Boston police officers that if you do wrong, if you make a mistake, you will be dealt with. But at the same time, if it is a mistake that can be corrected, that you can still have a career in the Boston Police Department, that we're not just going to discard you."

The current police commissioner named O'Toole to the position of deputy superintendent of special operations in April. That is how he came to be, once again, in charge of crowd control and police deployment around Fenway Park after another Red Sox victory.

He is known for his logistical planning abilities. Is he really the best the Boston Police Department has to offer for on-the-scene crowd control?

Boston City Councilor at Large Stephen J. Murphy is proposing stiffer penalties for crimes committed around Boston sports events. Where is the city councilor who will file an order demanding a hearing on police training and deployment with respect to crowd control?

Ironically, Kathleen O'Toole won the commissioner's post after a predecessor was judged unprepared for that post-Super Bowl riot. Ironically, she is now the person who gave Robert E. O'Toole a sensitive crowd control position that ended in tragedy.

Some people get a second chance in life. Deputy Superintendent O'Toole got one and blew it.

Victoria E. Snelgrove gets no second chance.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.