Free Republic

On Jan. 24, a SWAT team in Fairfax shot and killed Salvatore J. Culosi Jr., an optometrist who was under investigation for gambling. According to a Jan. 26 front-page story in The Post, Culosi had emerged from his home to meet an undercover officer when a police tactical unit swarmed around him. An officer's gun discharged, killing the suspect. Culosi, police said, was unarmed and had displayed no threatening behavior. It's unlikely that the officer who shot Culosi did so intentionally. But it's also unlikely that the investigation into this shooting will address why police sent a military-style unit to...

COP KILLS BELLPORT MAN Suffolk Police: Accidental Shooting in Botched Drug Raid A 20-year-old Bellport man was accidentally shot to death by a Suffolk police officer Friday night during a botched raid of a suspected drug house in Bellport, police said yesterday. The shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m., just after eight highly trained Emergency Service officers arrived at 862 Doane Ave. to execute a search warrant, police said. As four officers charged toward the front door, two men - Jose Colon and Aaron Hatcher, also 20 - unexpectedly came out the front door, Chief of Department Philip Robilotto said during...