Story highlights Mary Knowlton, a 73-year-old retired librarian, was playing an officer in a drill

Officer Lee Coel, whose gun was supposed to have blanks, faces a felony manslaughter charge

(CNN) The police chief of a Florida Gulf Coast town and one of his officers have been charged in connection with the accidental fatal shooting of a woman last year at a citizen's police academy.

In August, Punta Gorda police Officer Lee Coel fired the fatal shot during a drill involving civilians at the police academy facility. Mary Knowlton, a 73-year-old retired Minnesota mother of two, died at a hospital.

Coel was charged Wednesday with one count of felony manslaughter.

"I don't see how the facts as we know it would amount to criminal negligence as opposed to simple negligence," attorney Jerry Berry told CNN affiliate WINK . CNN reached out to Berry but didn't get an immediate response.

Chief Tom Lewis will face one count of misdemeanor culpable negligence.

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