Man shot by police officer - Metropolitan Police Service, March 2017

On 22 March 2017, a man drove a car across Westminster Bridge, killing and injuring pedestrians. After crashing his car, the man made his way on foot via the Carriage Gates into New Palace Yard in the grounds of the Houses of Parliament. The man stabbed and killed a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer and was making his way towards Westminster Hall when armed plain-clothed MPS officers approached him. One officer shot the man three times, causing fatal injuries.

A post-mortem examination found that the man died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

We opened an independent investigation after being notified by the MPS of the fatal shooting. Our investigation considered the actions and decisions, including the use of lethal force, of the officer who shot the man. All police officers were treated as witnesses throughout the investigation.

During the investigation, investigators reviewed over 190 accounts from officers and members of the public, examined the CCTV footage, and attended the post-mortem examination.

We determined that there was no indication that the officer who fired the lethal shots or any other person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or breached the standards of professional behaviour by using force that was unnecessary, disproportionate or unreasonable in the circumstances, nor were there grounds on which to believe that the performance of any officer was unsatisfactory.

The MPS agreed with our determination.

We completed our investigation and issued our final report to the MPS and HM Coroner on 5 July 2017 but held off from publishing our findings until after completion of the inquest into the man’s death.