Chief Constable faces health and safety charge over fatal shooting

This is a farce. The guy who was shot didn't have a chance. He was the victim of police hysteria. Background here

Sir Peter Fahy, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP), has been charged in connection with the shooting of an unarmed man by one of his officers.

Sir Peter is to be charged under health and safety laws over the fatal shooting of father of two, Anthony Grainger, during a planned operation in Cheshire in March 2012.

Prosecutors announced that Sir Peter was to be charged over allegations that he had failed to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

However the officer, who discharged the fatal shot, will face no action.

Mr Grainger, 36, from Bolton, was shot in the chest by a GMP marksman, during an investigation into an alleged armed robbery.

However it later transpired that Mr Grainger was unarmed and there were no weapons in the vehicle.

It has been reported that prior to his shooting he had been suspected of stealing a memory stick containing the names of police informants.

He was investigated in connection with the allegation but was subsequently released without charged.

When he was shot he was travelling in a car that had been stolen and had false registration plates.

Sir Peter has been charged because as Chief Constable he holds the post of "corporation sole" under Health and Safety laws meaning he is a representative of GMP, but does not share criminal responsibility.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided the marksman who killed Mr Grainger should not face charges for murder or manslaughter because a jury would be likely to accept that he believed his actions were necessary.

The force could not be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter because it did not hold any duty of responsibility towards Mr Grainger.

"In the circumstances of this case, our assessment of the evidence is that a jury would accept that the officer did believe his actions were necessary and that the level of force used in response to the threat as he perceived it to be was proportionate," it said.

The force could face an unlimited fine if the prosecution is successful.

Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "After careful consideration we have decided that the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Peter Fahy, should be prosecuted as a corporation sole for failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

"In addition to every employer's responsibility towards their employees, the law also imposes a duty to ensure that work is carried out in a way that ensures, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons outside of their employment are not exposed to risk.

"The chief officers of police forces are treated as employers for this purpose. It is alleged that there were serious deficiencies in the preparation for this operation that unnecessarily exposed individuals to risk."

But Mr Grainger’s family reacted with anger over the failure to prosecute anyone directly over the death.

His cousin Wesley Ahmed said the family would now consider whether to bring a private prosecution.

GMP’s Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "Since Mr Grainger's death 22 months ago, Greater Manchester Police has cooperated fully with the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Coroner.

"Our sympathies remain with Mr Grainger's family and we deeply regret the loss that they have suffered.

"Mr Grainger's family, and the officers involved, have had to wait a long time for this decision to be reached and we share the frustrations over those delays.

"However, we understand that it was vitally important that the investigation was carried out thoroughly to establish all the facts.

"Now that a charging decision has been made regarding the force itself, it is equally important that these legal processes are allowed to take their course unimpeded in order to seek a resolution for both the family of Mr Grainger and the force."

Original report here

　

　

　

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