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Police gun death inquest starts Police officer shot 'on instinct'
(about 2 hours later)
An inquest into the death of a police officer who was shot during a training exercise in Manchester is due to begin on Monday. A specialist firearms officer who shot dead a colleague at close range on a police training exercise acted "instinctively", an inquest has heard.
Pc Ian Terry, 32, was shot in the chest by a colleague as Greater Manchester Police's firearms unit practiced in a disused factory in June 2008. Pc Ian Terry, 32, was shot while holding an empty gun as Greater Manchester Police's firearms unit practised in a disused factory in 2008.
The father-of-two from Burnley was playing the role of a criminal fleeing in a car when he was shot. He was playing the role of a criminal fleeing in a car when he was shot.
Coroner Nigel Meadows expects the hearing to last up to five weeks. Coroner Nigel Meadows said the officer who shot the married father-of-two had said he had not intended to do so.
Pc Terry, who had not been wearing protective body armour, was rushed to hospital following the incident in Newton Heath, north Manchester, where he was pronounced dead. The hearing was told the aim of the role-play was to immobilise the suspect vehicle by deflating its tyres and then pull the pretend armed robbers out of the vehicle.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) suspended the use of live cartridges in training procedures following the death. Officers taking part in the exercise were told specifically to keep shotguns aimed downwards at all times, it was alleged.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission submitted a file of evidence concerning the shooting to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in December 2008. The officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons but was referred to by the pseudonym Chris, was interviewed shortly after the incident at a disused factory in Newton Heath, Manchester.
CCTV footage Mr Meadows said: "He said he acted instinctively to the threat of the gun from Pc Terry, although it was appreciated it was a training exercise.
The CPS announced last April that there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges against either GMP or any individual officers. "He later told an investigation carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission that he acted by instinct and had not intended to shoot a colleague."
The HSE said it will await the outcome of the inquest before deciding if it will bring any prosecutions. Pc Terry, from Burnley in Lancashire, died in hospital shortly after the incident in June 2008.
More than 50 officers may be required to give evidence, including the specialist firearms officer who shot Pc Terry. The hearing, which is expected to last for five weeks, continues.
CCTV footage of the moment that Pc Terry was shot will also be shown.