Investigation into police contact with a man who died at the scene – Leicestershire Police, November 2023

A man was stopped by the police in his car shortly after midnight. The car had very recently been marked as wanted on the Police National Computer as the man was a suspect in connection with a crime. 

The man was the sole occupant of the car, which came to a stop on the side of a road after contact with the unmarked police car. 

Police officers found the man unresponsive in the driver’s seat. He had a significant head injury. 
The man was removed from the car by armed officers who gave first aid until the ambulance arrived and took over. The man was declared dead at the scene.

A non-police firearm was found in the car. The post-mortem examination showed that the man died from a single gun-shot wound to the head.

Our investigators went to the scene, and subsequently conducted a detailed investigation. A number of witness statements were obtained, and police officers’ body worn and vehicle-mounted camera footage was analysed. We also reviewed radio transmissions and experts’ reports.

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system, and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

In this case, we did not identify any organisational learning. However, there were a number of areas we asked the force to consider about the planning and implementation of firearms operations.