Non-fatal police shooting - Metropolitan Police Service, March 2018

On 19 March 2018 Metropolitan Police Service officers attended reports of an armed robbery in Hackney, east London. Their investigation led them to locate a man, who was suspected of being connected to this report, at his home address. A number of firearms officers were deployed around the property. A group of them, tasked with arresting the man, attempted to contact him and speak with him. A confrontation followed, during which the man pointed what was thought to be a double-barrelled shotgun at officers on two occasions. In response to this, officers fired shots at the man. Officers provided the man with first aid and called for an ambulance. The man was taken to hospital. His injuries were serious but not fatal.

Our investigators attended the scene and conducted a detailed examination. We took witness statements from police officers, members of the public and forensic experts. We also analysed police officers’ body-worn video (BWV) footage, radio and telephone transmissions and experts’ reports.

Evidence suggests that the man did not comply with officers’ request to come out of the property. The BWV footage shows officers attempting to talk to him, but his behaviour and comments appear to be erratic.

In their accounts, officers described that they perceived that their own lives and the lives of their colleagues were at risk as a consequence of the man’s actions. The BWV evidence suggests their belief about the threat posed by the man was reasonable given that the BWV footage shows him pointing what appears to be a double-barrelled shotgun out of the window of his home in the direction of officers. After the man was shot, officers provided him with medical assistance straightaway.

Based on the evidence available we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, or had committed a criminal offence.

We completed our investigation in March 2019, but waited until criminal proceedings against the man had completed, in early 2020, before publishing its outcomes. He was found guilty of attempted murder of a police officer and other offences, and sentenced for life.