Officers’ tactics and use of lethal force investigated – Metropolitan Police Service, December 2021

A member of the public called the police to report an attempted robbery at a bank. They gave a description of the suspect and said he claimed to have a gun. An alarm from the same venue reported a robbery.

A firearms incident was declared, and firearms officers were sent to the area. Further reports of attempted robberies on the same road within a short period of time were given to the police.

The police were told that the person believed to be responsible had gotten into a taxi. The taxi was identified and a vehicle containing firearms officers followed the taxi until it came to a natural stop. Police officers confronted the man inside, who raised what appeared to be a gun in their direction. Firearms officers shot the man three times. The man was given first aid but died at the scene.

We received a death or serious injury referral from the force and decided to independently investigate the actions, decisions and tactics (including the use of lethal force) of the officers involved in the police response to this incident.

Our investigators attended the scene, post mortem and post incident process. We took witness statements from police officers and members of the public and advice was obtained from four experts, including a firearms forensic specialist and an operational firearms commander. We analysed CCTV footage, police officers’ body worn video footage, radio communications and telephone transmissions. A non-police issued firearm and a knife were recovered at the scene.

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

We found the evidence supported the officers’ belief that they faced an imminent threat to their lives. Officers followed national guidance and their training, and their use of force was necessary, reasonable and proportionate given the circumstances they faced.

The inquest concluded that the man’s death was lawful killing.

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.

We did not identify any organisational learning in this case.