Trigger-happy British cop could face trial over 'execution' in the street when robbery suspect was shot in the head four times

A firearms officer could face trial over the death of a drug dealer in a bungled operation.

Azelle Rodney, 24, was ‘executed’ in a hail of bullets when his car was stopped by police marksmen who suspected he was about to rob Colombian rivals.

The armed officer let off eight shots in less than two seconds from a high-powered carbine at almost point-blank range, claiming he feared the suspect was about to fire a submachine gun.

But a retired High Court judge questioned his account yesterday, ruling there was ‘no lawful justification’ for shooting him dead.

In a highly critical judgment, Sir Christopher Holland castigated almost every aspect of the dangerous operation in April 2005.

He accused the officer, known only as E7, of firing ‘pre-emptive’ shots as police moved in to stop the car carrying three suspected gunmen.

And he said he did not believe E7 held an ‘honest belief’ that Rodney posed a lethal threat.

Sir Christopher also criticised the lack of planning, excessive force in the so-called ‘hard stop’ and the chaotic aftermath.

His inquiry ruling contradicts the findings of independent investigators and marks a turning point in a long-running legal battle.

Rodney’s mother said her son was ‘executed’ and demanded an apology from Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. It also emerged that:

* Prosecutors who originally gave E7 a clean bill of health will reconsider whether he should be charged with murder;

* It can be revealed the marksman won an apology for being called a ‘serial killer’ by a senior Yard officer after he shot dead two armed robbers in an abattoir;

* Rodney’s family is preparing a multi-million pound compensation claim after years of fighting to find out exactly what happened;

* The findings are a vindication for campaigners who fought Government plans for secret inquests that would have covered up swathes of damning evidence.

Lawyers for E7, who retired in 2008 to work as a firearms consultant, have already informed Sir Christopher they will seek a judicial review of his ‘irrational’ findings.

He was one of the most respected officers in the Yard’s elite CO19 unit and won seven commendations during a 33-year career.

In 1987, he killed two armed robbers during a raid at a South London abattoir. In 2008, after bumping into him at a social function, former deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers – who later led the phone-hacking inquiry – told him: ‘I’ve always wanted to meet the Met’s very own serial killer.’

E7 complained and was awarded £5,000 for ‘hurt feelings’ over the ill-judged joke.

Police repeatedly fought for large swathes of evidence to be heard in secret, supposedly to protect intelligence sources.

But experts suspect their real motivation was to protect senior officers from humiliation as their shortcomings were systematically exposed.

They believe much of the evidence revealed during Sir Christopher’s public inquiry would have been covered up had new legislation been in force.

Rodney was shot dead as he travelled with two other men in a VW Golf through Edgware, North London, on April 30, 2005.

Sir Christopher criticised the Met for failing to minimise the danger to Rodney when it planned the operation, instead leaving vital decisions to armed officers on the ground.

Rodney’s mother, Susan Alexander, said the report backed her view that he was ‘executed’ by the police.

She added: ‘This report has found that there was no lawful justification for my son’s killing by the police. Azelle’s death was wholly avoidable.

'I shouldn’t be sitting here now, beginning another chapter in my fight for justice for him.

‘The fact that he was strongly suspected in being involved in crime does not justify him or anyone else being summarily killed.’

Isabella Sankey, of Liberty, which campaigns against secret inquests, said: ‘Successive governments used this case to try to justify closed hearings, yet the inquiry did its job without hearing any secret evidence whatsoever.

‘Let’s never forget how secrecy can be used as a cloak for illegality, embarrassment and abuses of power.’

Sir Bernard said: ‘We plan our operations to confront the armed and dangerous so as to minimise wherever possible the use of lethal force.’

He said: ‘Being a firearms officer is one of the toughest jobs in the police because you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Officers have tough choices to make. Sometimes, armed criminals leave you with little choice. It’s either shoot them or risk the public being hurt.

‘In the years I’ve known the officer referred to as E7, I’ve always founded him to be very grounded and not gung-ho.

‘He often put himself in the most dangerous positions on an operation because he was one of the best.

‘He would see things in slow motion and therefore had longer to process what was happening than other officers.’

Original report here




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