Non-fatal police shooting - West Mercia Police, November 2018

During the evening of 3 November 2018, West Mercia Police received a number of 999 calls with reports of a man in possession of a firearm.

Officers conducted area searches but failed to locate the man. However, following a report that he had attended a public house, CCTV images were obtained and circulated within the force.

At approximately 1.44am on 4 November 2018, a man was spotted acting suspiciously in some bushes just off the A38 in Bromsgrove. A positive match was made with the CCTV images and armed response officers were deployed to the scene.

Officers located the man and, at 1.49am, they challenged him to get on the floor. The man appeared to be holding something in his right hand and pointing it straight at the officers. Two authorised firearms officers (AFOs) fired five shots, as a result of which the man was injured. Officers provided immediate first-aid and the man was then taken to hospital, where he suffered serious, non-fatal injuries.

Our investigators attended the scene and the post-incident procedure. We obtained body-worn video (BWV) footage from four firearms officers, along with vehicle-mounted camera footage. We analysed the firearms and obtained radio communications and incident logs. All four AFOs involved in the incident provided detailed accounts to assist our investigation. All officers were treated as witnesses throughout our investigation.

Evidence indicated that the deployment of AFOs to the incident was authorised in accordance with current policy and procedure. The officer in charge was appropriately trained and deployed multiple AFOs to the scene. All were experienced officers and up to date with their firearms training, and therefore authorised to carry firearms.

The BWV footage and the accounts of the two AFOs confirm that instructions were provided to the man to put the weapon down but that he did not comply. The BWV footage showed that the man turned towards them, raised his arms and pointed what appeared to be a firearm towards them. Both the officers state that they had the honestly held belief that the man was going to shoot at them and it was at this point that they discharged their weapons. A replica of a handgun was later recovered from the scene.

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 May 2019 but waited until criminal proceedings against the man had taken place to publish its outcomes.