TIMES-LEADER (Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania) 15 July 05 No leave for cop who shot turtle - Exeter police chief disagrees with recommendation by municipal commission in Harrisburg. (Ron Lieback)

Exeter: As people question why a police sergeant shot and killed a snapping turtle last week, a municipal police training commission recommends the sergeant be placed on administrative leave or administrative duty while an investigation is conducted.

Police Chief John McNeil says that’s nonsense.

“It’s like if an officer decides to shoot a deer hit by a car, it’s his decision.”

McNeil, who was at a conference for the Police Chiefs Association in Valley Forge this week, said he does plan to review Sgt. Len Galli’s report but will not put him on administrative leave.

“I was absent during the incident and only knew about it from the papers,” he said. “I will read his report and move on from there.”

McNeil said a specific report must be filled out whenever an officer fires a weapon.

“If a gun was discharged at a human, the incident would be handled in a totally different way, but it was a turtle,” McNeil said.

Beverly Young, of the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission in Harrisburg, said Monday she does not know the specifics of the incident, but the commission teaches officers to only use force if there is an endangerment of life or property.

“I hope he had a nightstick or contacted animal welfare before discharging the weapon.”

The turtle, estimated to be 50 pounds, was found in the Wyoming Avenue yard of James Fino on the morning of July 8. First Fino tried to poke the turtle away with a broomstick, but the tortoise quickly snapped the stick in two.

When Galli took over, he attempted to pick it up. The turtle nearly bit the sergeant’s back, so he fired two rounds into the turtle’s head.

Young said if the shooting involved another human, the officer would immediately be put on administrative duty. But the policy on discharging a weapon on an animal is different for every department.

Galli did not return calls for comment for this story.

Since a report of the shooting appeared in the Times Leader last week, the turtle incident has become a popular topic on online blogs. A Luzerne County Forum, at http://luzernecounty.proboards13.com/index.cgi, has more than 20 responses from readers weighing in. Most seem to think Galli went too far. Some bloggers took a more humorous approach, including one who posted a picture of a large turtle coming out of the water and saying “Galli, I’m coming for you, you shot my Pa!!!”

The Web site for Texas-based public relations firm Idea Grove ( www.ideagrove.com/blog) posted information on the turtle shooting online and offered this advice to Galli “ A friendly (and free) recommendation to the Exeter PD: get your public information officer on the case Monday morning.”

Trooper Linette Quinn, public information coordinator for the state police in Harrisburg, said state police policy is similar to Exeter’s in that the sergeant would not be placed on administrative duty because a person was not injured.

“We (state police) have had to shoot dogs and deer that were hit by cars. All the cases were investigated involving animals and the troopers remained on active duty.”

McNeil said the last shooting incident in the borough involving a police officer was in February 2004 when an officer had to shoot at a car that was attempting to run over the officer.

Because of the fast investigation, the officer, Dion Fernandes, was not placed on administrative leave.

Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas conducted an investigation into Fernandes’ firing of his weapon and concluded that the action was justified.
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