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| Azelle Rodney looked as if he was about to shoot police, officer says | Azelle Rodney looked as if he was about to shoot police, officer says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A former armed police officer has told a jury he was “absolutely convinced” a suspect he was attempting to arrest was reaching for an automatic weapon when he fired eight shots in rapid succession, two of which hit the man in the head.. | |
| Former Metropolitan police marksman Anthony Long, 58, is on trial for the murder of Azelle Rodney in 2005, which he denies. | Former Metropolitan police marksman Anthony Long, 58, is on trial for the murder of Azelle Rodney in 2005, which he denies. |
| Testifying in his own defence on Wednesday, Long explained to the Old Bailey jury why he fired eight shots in two seconds at the suspect, including two that struck him in the top of the head. | Testifying in his own defence on Wednesday, Long explained to the Old Bailey jury why he fired eight shots in two seconds at the suspect, including two that struck him in the top of the head. |
| Rodney was 24 when he was died in April 2005. He was a passenger in a car being followed by the police, who believed the three occupants had weapons and were planning to rob Colombian drug dealers. | |
| Long told the jury he did not see the suspect with a gun before opening fire. Rodney was sitting in the rear seat of a Volkswagen Golf as Long pulled alongside him in an unmarked car while other police cars boxed in the Golf. | |
| Long told the jury that Rodney’s actions made him suspect he may have been reaching for an automatic weapon capable of firing 18 rounds a second. | Long told the jury that Rodney’s actions made him suspect he may have been reaching for an automatic weapon capable of firing 18 rounds a second. |
| As he pulled alongside, Long told the jury Rodney was looking left and right, then ducked down. Long explained why he opened fire: “I was absolutely convinced he had ducked down, he had picked up a firearm, probably a fully automatic firearm, and posed an imminent threat to my colleagues.” | As he pulled alongside, Long told the jury Rodney was looking left and right, then ducked down. Long explained why he opened fire: “I was absolutely convinced he had ducked down, he had picked up a firearm, probably a fully automatic firearm, and posed an imminent threat to my colleagues.” |
| Long said intelligence said the suspects had at least two fully automatic weapons. He told the jury a Mac 10 weapon could fire 18 rounds a second. | Long said intelligence said the suspects had at least two fully automatic weapons. He told the jury a Mac 10 weapon could fire 18 rounds a second. |
| The court heard earlier that Long squeezed the trigger of his gun eight times, shooting the suspect in the arm, body, twice around his right ear and then, after a pause of three-quarters of a second, twice through the top of his head, travelling down towards the base of his skull. Long’s first two shots had missed. | The court heard earlier that Long squeezed the trigger of his gun eight times, shooting the suspect in the arm, body, twice around his right ear and then, after a pause of three-quarters of a second, twice through the top of his head, travelling down towards the base of his skull. Long’s first two shots had missed. |
| Max Hill, prosecuting, previously told the jury that Long “cannot have seen whether Azelle Rodney was doing anything before he pulled the trigger on his police carbine”. | Max Hill, prosecuting, previously told the jury that Long “cannot have seen whether Azelle Rodney was doing anything before he pulled the trigger on his police carbine”. |
| “We say that Mr Long in effect opened fire as soon as Azelle Rodney came into his gun sights. There was no time for anything to happen in between.” | “We say that Mr Long in effect opened fire as soon as Azelle Rodney came into his gun sights. There was no time for anything to happen in between.” |
| Long said he stood by his 2005 statement made days after the shooting. | Long said he stood by his 2005 statement made days after the shooting. |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |