Man shot and wounded by firearms officer - West Midlands Police, July 2017

On 26 July 2017, at around 9pm, West Midlands Police (WMP) deployed officers to an area in south Birmingham after receiving intelligence relating to the possession of a gun and ammunition. This was part of a wider initiative to combat gang crime in the city. A photograph of the main suspect was circulated beforehand to officers taking part in the operation.

The main suspect was spotted in an alleyway on foot along with another man. Two armed officers they were walking towards drew their weapons and gave commands for the men to stop and show their hands. One of the men (the main suspect) complied immediately, but the other man held his hand slightly behind him and towards the rear of his body. Believing the man to have a weapon he was about to use, one of the officers shot the man in the chest.

Officers gave the man immediate first aid and called an ambulance. The man was taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove a single bullet from his chest.
The man, who was unarmed, subsequently complained that he had been the main target for the police and that the police intent was to shoot him. He further alleged that he had been stripped naked by the officers and not received any first aid.

We investigated the circumstances in which the shooting took place. Our investigators were deployed to the scene and attended the post-incident procedure. They gathered and reviewed police body-worn video (BWV) that captured footage of the incident. Investigators also carried out house-to- house enquiries and collected relevant evidence, including ballistics analysis. They obtained statements from all officers involved in the operation, including the firearms officer who fired the shot, and from independent witnesses. In addition they looked at the firearms authorisations of the officers involved and reviewed police radio transmissions.

The officer who fired the shot stated that the man was not complying with the commands that were being given to him, in that he did not put his hands up into the air when asked to do so. He said that the man appeared to draw his right hand away from his body, and made a motion with his hand, as if to point what the officer believed was a gun towards the two officers. It was at this point that the officer discharged one round to ‘neutralise the threat’ he felt the man presented. The officer stated that he did not believe he had had viable alternative options – such as, for instance, Taser – due to the immediacy of the potential threat posed.

Evidence showed that the firearms officer fired a single shot. Footage from the two officers’ BWV confirmed that the man did not immediately comply to raise his hands and appeared to be reaching behind his back just before the shot was fired. Intelligence provided to the officers was that gang members usually carried weapons tucked into the rear of their trousers.

Our investigation found that all police officers involved, including the one who fired the shot, acted in line with policy and procedure.

Having reviewed the evidence, including all statements, the intelligence brief provided to officers before the operation, and officers’ BWV footage, we were of the opinion that the man’s actions could have led the officer to believe that the man was a threat. We were therefore of the view that the officer’s actions were appropriate in the circumstances.

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.

BWV footage obtained during our investigation showed that, immediately after the shot was fired, the officers present began to source and administer first aid to the man. One officer is seen to be cutting the man’s shirt with scissors in order to place a chest seal on his wound. Officers are shown to be staying with the man until the ambulance arrived.

Evidence we gathered indicated that the man who was shot was not identified by police until after he left the scene and was being treated in hospital. During the planning of the police operation he had not been named as a suspect or expected to be present.

We therefore did not uphold the man’s complaints that he had been targeted by police, denied first aid, or in any other way mistreated by officers.

After reviewing our report, WMP agreed with our findings.

Our investigation was finalised in March 2018 but discussions around sensitive police operational details and other relevant factors have delayed publication of our findings until now.