Police death case passed to CPS

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Prosecutors are to decide whether to take action over the death of a Greater Manchester Police officer shot in a training exercise.

Pc Ian Terry, 32, from Burnley, Lancashire, was shot in the chest by a colleague in Manchester in June.

The case was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

It has now passed evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner for the North West, said: "It is appropriate in this case for the IPCC to submit the file of evidence collected during our investigation to both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Health and Safety Executive.

"It will be for those bodies to now consider this file to determine whether there is any evidence which would warrant the bringing of criminal charges in relation to the death of Pc Terry."

Getaway car

Pc Terry was playing the role of a criminal in a getaway car at the police training centre in Newton Heath when he was shot on 9 June.

The married father-of-two, who was not wearing armoured clothing, was taken to hospital where he died.

It is believed the training exercises involved officers blasting the Round Irritant Personnel (Rip) rounds into suspects' cars to disable the occupants.

The rounds are cartridges which when fired, release a blast of gas at high pressure but in this case they were filled with a harmless white powder.