Unarmed ex-squaddie Sean Fitzgerald shot dead by police - but officer ‘has no case to answer’
The family of an ex-squaddie want to remember him for the “fun-loving person that he was and not the manner in which he died”.
Seven years ago, ex-squaddie Sean Fitzgerald was shot dead by police. He was unarmed but an officer mistook his mobile phone for a gun and so was fired at.
The 31-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the chest as he fled when officers stormed a property in Coventry on January 4, 2019. No weapons were recovered from the house on Burnaby Road following the "intelligence-led" operation by West Midlands Police. Sean’s family are now devastated to have learned that the police officer responsible for his death will face no disciplinary action.
Following the fatal incident, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation into the shooting following a mandatory referral from the force. Nearly seven years passed and on Tuesday (January 13), the police watchdog announced the officer who fired the fatal shots - known as Officer K - had "no case to answer".
Sean's family has slammed the decision to not launch any gross misconduct proceedings following a previous lack of any criminal charges. Liam Fitzgerald, Sean’s brother, said: “This decision by the IOPC is very disappointing. We strongly disagree and believe that Officer K should face a gross misconduct hearing.
"We believe that the evidence at the inquest, including his behaviour after Sean’s shooting, undermines Officer K’s version of events, including his account that he honestly believed Sean had a gun.
"We consider he should have faced a gross misconduct hearing regarding his use of force, which would necessarily consider the truth of the accounts he has given since Sean’s death.
"It has been seven years since Sean was killed and our faith in the IOPC has continuously been eroded. The time they have taken to complete their initial investigation was totally unacceptable.
"We also believe the investigation was flawed from the start; from allowing Officer K to see his body worn video before giving a full statement (relying on post-deployment procedures which exist, a fact which is incomprehensible to us) to poorly selected experts who gave opinions on matters they were not qualified.
"We believe a good quality timely investigation would have shown that Officer K did not honestly believe Sean was a threat and that his actions were not only wrong but unlawful. We now want to close the door on this chapter and remember Sean for the fun-loving person that he was and not the manner in which he died."
The IOPC said they had reviewed new evidence presented at the inquest into his death, which took place over six weeks between April 7 and May 21 last year. At the conclusion of the inquest the jury returned a majority conclusion of lawful killing but found a number of failures in the police operation.
The police watchdog said it considered evidence from the inquest - including a digital reconstruction showing the officer could have had a line of sight to the mobile phone, which experts said could have been mistaken for a gun.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “Our sympathies remain with the family of Sean Fitzgerald and all those affected by his death. This has been one of the most detailed, complex investigations we’ve carried out in recent years and involved a huge amount of evidence gathering and examination of sensitive intelligence.
“The determination over whether the officer should face disciplinary proceedings largely came down to a split-second decision in what was a dynamic, fast-moving, armed police operation.
“Our conclusion was that the officer has no case to answer for gross misconduct, but I acknowledge Mr Fitzgerald’s family did not agree with our opinion. We have reached this position after extensive analysis and careful consideration of whether the evidence now meets the legal threshold we are required to apply.”
Mr Campbell said the IOPC did not underestimate the impact a prolonged investigation, and legal processes, had on officers under investigation and Mr Fitzgerald’s family and loved ones. He said: “We are extremely conscious of the time taken to reach the current position and we are sorry for any distress this has caused.”
Friends at the time claimed Sean, a car trader, had been visiting friends and was shot during a "drugs bust gone wrong."
His friend Cory Brown, 28, said: "He was my friend. They were all in the house unarmed. From what we can gather, they have ran away out of the house because the police raided it.
"The police climbed up ladders and went through windows, almost like it was World War Three. Obviously any person in their right mind would've been scared and ran away."