Update on investigation into police shooting of David Joyce in Milton Keynes

Our independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of David Joyce outside Milton Keynes railway station on 1 April continues to progress.

We have now established that Mr Joyce, who lived in Milton Keynes but was originally from Galway in the Republic of Ireland, was armed with a steak knife, with a 12cm blade, when he ran at two officers. He was then shot at close range by an officer from a Thames Valley Police (TVP) armed response unit which was first on the scene.

Police had been alerted following a 999 call from a man reporting that ‘there is a man with a gun down at the train station in Milton Keynes’.

The call handler rang back after the caller hung up during the call and spoke to the man again who said the man with the gun was acting suspiciously, looked like he was about to do something bad and ‘definitely’ had a gun.

Records show that the mobile phone number used to make the 999 call had been used to call police before and was linked to Mr Joyce.

CCTV footage shows Mr Joyce making a phone call at a time which matches with when the 999 call to police was made.

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Milton Keynes Coroners’ Court on Thursday 10 April. A full hearing will follow after our investigation concludes. The preliminary cause of death was given as a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “We again extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of David Joyce and all those affected by this incident.

“We continue to keep his family informed of our progress.

“Our investigators are working hard to piece together the circumstances leading up to Mr Joyce being shot by a police officer and have already carried out a significant amount of enquiries.

As part of our enquiries, we have taken accounts from the police officers involved, gathered a large volume of CCTV including from inside and outside the station, obtained the officers’ body-worn video and police vehicle dashcam footage, completed house-to-house enquiries at nearby properties and taken statements from members of the public who witnessed the shooting.

We previously issued a witness appeal which identified more witnesses who have been contacted to obtain statements.

We have also shared our investigation’s terms of reference with Mr Joyce’s family, TVP and HM Coroner.

In line with investigations following a fatal police shooting, we will look at the decisions and actions of TVP officers prior to and during their interaction with Mr Joyce – including the medical care they provided at the scene; if the lethal force was necessary, justified and proportionate; and whether the officers followed policy.

All officers who attended the incident remain as witnesses in our ongoing investigation as there is no indication that any of them may have committed a criminal offence or breached police professional standards of behaviour.