'I'll fight on' vows widow of man killed by police

Published on Friday 21 October 2005 00:53

Key points

• Harry Stanley was shot dead by police six years ago

• Officers Neil Sharman and Kevin Fagan mistook a table leg for a shot gun

• Crown Prosecution Service says there is insufficient evidence to charge those responsible

Story in full THE widow of a Scottish grandfather shot dead by police after they mistook a table leg he was carrying for a shotgun has vowed to "keep fighting" after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officers responsible.

"I can't bring Harry back, but I'm not giving up," said Irene Stanley. "We're the victims here and we've been let down."

Mrs Stanley, who has fought a protracted legal battle for the officers who killed her husband to face prosecution, is now considering other legal avenues open to her, including a judicial review.

It was six years ago that Chief Inspector Neil Sharman and Police Constable Kevin Fagan shot dead Mr Stanley, 46, a father of three from Glasgow, as he walked home in Hackney carrying a table leg wrapped in a blue plastic bag. There followed two police investigations, a judicial review, two inquests, during the second of which a jury recorded a verdict of unlawful killing in 2004. The verdict was subsequently overturned by a High Court judge in May 2004.

Then, in June this year, PC Fagan, 38, and Mr Sharman, 42, were arrested, following an ongoing investigation by Surrey Police.

It had uncovered "significant forensic evidence" - two bullet holes in the top left shoulder of Mr Stanley's jacket - which, according to the CPS, "appeared to indicate he may have been shot as he began to turn towards the officers, in contradiction to the statements provided by them".

The possible charges considered against them were murder, gross negligence, manslaughter, perjury, attempting to pervert the course of justice and misconduct in a public office.

Yesterday, in a statement, the CPS concluded that there was "insufficient evidence to rebut the officers' assertion that they were acting in self-defence". It added it had considered the bullet hole evidence and "obtained the opinions of other forensic experts who confirmed ... that the evidence could reasonably permit interpretations consistent with the officers' belief they were acting in self-defence".

The officers did not escape criticism, however. Explaining its decision to reject the charge of manslaughter by gross negligence, the CPS said it was "arguable that the officers' haste and lack of planning led them to breach their duty of care to Mr Stanley and cause his death".

But it went on to say that there was insufficient evidence to prove gross negligence as that required more than "serious mistakes and errors of judgment".

Deborah Coles, co-director of the family support group Inquest, said the "abhorrent" decision to clear the marksmen would undermine public confidence in the police.

She said that the officers' accounts of the events surrounding the shooting were "not accepted by two inquest juries, inquests at which these officers were legally represented. They should be properly held to account for their actions".

Scotland Yard assistant commissioner Steve House expressed sympathy for Mr Stanley's family. But he was also critical of the lengthy legal process in what had been a "very stressful time for the two officers involved, their families and their colleagues".

The two officers could yet face disciplinary action. Police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will investigate the case and report on any lessons to be learned or disciplinary action.