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/8543493.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Officer tells of fatal Pc shots | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A police officer who killed a colleague with a pump-action shotgun during a training exercise said the shooting had been an "involuntary act". | A police officer who killed a colleague with a pump-action shotgun during a training exercise said the shooting had been an "involuntary act". |
| Pc Ian Terry, 32, was killed as Greater Manchester Police's firearms unit practised in a disused factory in 2008. | Pc Ian Terry, 32, was killed as Greater Manchester Police's firearms unit practised in a disused factory in 2008. |
| His colleague, a specialist firearms officer, known only as "Chris", said he had no intention of hurting Pc Terry. | His colleague, a specialist firearms officer, known only as "Chris", said he had no intention of hurting Pc Terry. |
| He told an inquest in Manchester he had been "shocked" when the Remington 870 pump-action shotgun went off. | He told an inquest in Manchester he had been "shocked" when the Remington 870 pump-action shotgun went off. |
| Pc Terry, who was not wearing body armour, was hit in the chest by specialist ammunition called round irritant personnel (RIP). | Pc Terry, who was not wearing body armour, was hit in the chest by specialist ammunition called round irritant personnel (RIP). |
| The father-of-two, from Burnley, was holding a handgun and playing a suspect during a "cops and robbers" vehicle training exercise involving about 20 officers. | The father-of-two, from Burnley, was holding a handgun and playing a suspect during a "cops and robbers" vehicle training exercise involving about 20 officers. |
| Chris, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, gave evidence at Manchester Coroner's Court behind screens. | Chris, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, gave evidence at Manchester Coroner's Court behind screens. |
| "When the weapon went off it was just complete shock," he said. | "When the weapon went off it was just complete shock," he said. |
| I never had any intention of hurting anyone. I was there to cover the threat. I don't know why the trigger went off it just did Chris | I never had any intention of hurting anyone. I was there to cover the threat. I don't know why the trigger went off it just did Chris |
| The inquest was told the officer had said in a statement to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC): "Looking back at this I did not mean to pull the trigger and it was an involuntary act." | The inquest was told the officer had said in a statement to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC): "Looking back at this I did not mean to pull the trigger and it was an involuntary act." |
| Jonathan Hough, counsel for the Coroner Nigel Meadows, asked the officer: "You have described the act as an involuntary act, can we assume this was a shot you did not mean to fire and you are now very remorseful about?" | Jonathan Hough, counsel for the Coroner Nigel Meadows, asked the officer: "You have described the act as an involuntary act, can we assume this was a shot you did not mean to fire and you are now very remorseful about?" |
| Chris replied: "I never had any intention of hurting anyone. I was there to cover the threat. I don't know why the trigger went off it just did. | Chris replied: "I never had any intention of hurting anyone. I was there to cover the threat. I don't know why the trigger went off it just did. |
| "It was just horrible. I did not want to hurt anyone, especially not Ian. | "It was just horrible. I did not want to hurt anyone, especially not Ian. |
| "I think that was why I was so surprised when it did go off, I just did not expect it to happen." | "I think that was why I was so surprised when it did go off, I just did not expect it to happen." |
| 'That's the threat' | 'That's the threat' |
| Chris was a front seat passenger in one of three unmarked police cars - Alpha, Bravo and Charlie - which were tracking the the suspect vehicle, a Suzuki Vitara, in which Pc Terry was a passenger. | Chris was a front seat passenger in one of three unmarked police cars - Alpha, Bravo and Charlie - which were tracking the the suspect vehicle, a Suzuki Vitara, in which Pc Terry was a passenger. |
| Chris's job was to shoot out the tyres of the suspect vehicle. | Chris's job was to shoot out the tyres of the suspect vehicle. |
| The Alpha car had hemmed in the suspect car and as the Bravo car pulled up for Chris to get out he said his "focus" was on a weapon being waved about by Pc Terry, playing the villain in the "target" car. | The Alpha car had hemmed in the suspect car and as the Bravo car pulled up for Chris to get out he said his "focus" was on a weapon being waved about by Pc Terry, playing the villain in the "target" car. |
| "My immediate reaction was, 'that's the threat,' that's what I need to be going for." | |
| Lewis Brown, counsel for the other police officers at the incident, asked Chris about evidence given by them at the hearing. | |
| Chris's colleagues had said RIP rounds would be used on the exercise, that officers should keep their shotguns down at all times, a "shoot-scenario" was to take place, only paint rounds were to be used in the shoot-scenario and that the safety catch was not to be taken off the shotgun until the muzzle was placed against the tyre to be shot out. | |
| 'Been gutted' | |
| To all those questions, Chris said he could either not remember or was not given those instructions in a briefing before the exercise. | |
| James Ageros, counsel for Chris, asked how the death of Pc Terry had affected him. | |
| "I have been gutted ever since," he replied. "He was a colleague but I like to think he was one of the people I got along with better than anybody else. | |
| "It just stays with me all the time. I know it is nowhere near as bad for me as the family, I just try not to think about it." | |
| The inquest continues. |