This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/7362488.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Gun death family can sue police | Gun death family can sue police |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The family of a man who was shot dead by Sussex Police while naked and unarmed can sue the force for unlawful killing, Law Lords have ruled. | The family of a man who was shot dead by Sussex Police while naked and unarmed can sue the force for unlawful killing, Law Lords have ruled. |
James Ashley, 39, from Liverpool, was shot 10 years ago as he got out of bed at his flat in Hastings which officers had a warrant to search. | James Ashley, 39, from Liverpool, was shot 10 years ago as he got out of bed at his flat in Hastings which officers had a warrant to search. |
The policeman who fired the fatal shot was tried for murder and acquitted. | The policeman who fired the fatal shot was tried for murder and acquitted. |
The force had argued the killing was the result of an honest mistake by the officer who thought he would be shot. | The force had argued the killing was the result of an honest mistake by the officer who thought he would be shot. |
Speaking after the ruling, Mr Ashley's sister, Pauline, described the result as "fantastic". | |
Ms Ashley, 45, from Dingle, Liverpool, said: "I don't even know the full details yet, but I know that we've got everything we wanted to, so that's fantastic." | |
Drugs raid | |
Jane Deighton, solicitor for the family, added: "It is a tremendous vindication of both the courage of the family and the court in upholding that claimants can go to the courts for a judgment and not just use it to get money. | |
"It is a defeat for the [now retired] chief constable of Sussex who spent the last 10 years trying to manoeuvre the Ashleys out of court." | |
Mr Ashley died when armed police carried out a drugs raid on his flat in Western Road, St Leonards, Hastings, on 15 January 1998. | |
The policeman who fired the shot, Pc Chris Sherwood, claimed he had, mistakenly, believed that Mr Ashley was pointing a gun at him and was about to shoot him. | |
He was cleared of unlawful killing after he said he had fired in self defence. |