Death raises questions about police tactics; alcohol to be sold

He called the police action "an egregious overreaction."

"There was nothing violent going on. It was all celebration," he said.

Giovanni De Francisci, a 30-year-old Emerson student, said he was about 10 feet behind police officers as shots were fired in Snelgrove's direction.

He said nobody was climbing or causing damage in Snelgrove's immediate area around the time she was shot.

"It was not at all necessary to disperse that crowd. If you want to disperse a crowd, why not disperse the crowd that is overturning cars?" he asked.

Boston police bought the projectile weaponry for crowd control during this summer's Democratic National Convention, but did not use it then because protests remained relatively subdued.

Snelgrove's death was the second in Boston this year during rowdy celebrations of sports victories. Police were caught understaffed when riots broke out after the New England Patriots' Super Bowl victory Feb. 1. One person was killed and another critically injured when a vehicle plowed into revelers.

Melvin L. Tucker, a security consultant who specializes in the use of force by police, said "less-than-lethal" weaponry has become increasingly popular among police departments around the country over the past five years as a replacement for nightsticks, tear gas and other such tactics.

"This is generally a lot safer. It's a real tragedy," said Tucker, the former police chief of Tallahassee, Fla., and Asheville, N.C.