Funeral to be held of man shot dead by police
THE funeral of the man shot dead by police in Coventry will take place at the start of next month.
Sean Fitzgerald died on January 4 after armed police carried out a raid at an address in Burnaby Road and he suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest.
The warrant for the raid, which was executed by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and West Midlands Police on the night, was issued in support of a Warwickshire Police investigation.
The funeral of Mr Fitzgerald, 31, will take place at St Thomas Church, in Keresley, on Friday, March 1, at noon.
It will be followed by a burial at Marston Lane cemetery in Bedworth at 1.30pm.
The family has requested no flowers to be sent by well-wishers and has asked for donations to Help for Heroes instead.
Donations can be made via J E Hackett and Sons online here or send them to J E Hackett and Son Ltd, 93 Leicester Road, Bedworth, CV12 8AH, or call 024 7631 3326. An investigation into Mr Fitzgerald’s death has been launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is expected to conclude in June.
The Telkegraph asked the police watchdog for information about the investigation that led to the warrant being executed in Burnaby Road.
A spokesperson for the IOPC said at the time: “As we have stated, the intelligence provided for the planning and carrying out of the operation will form part of our investigation.
“However details relating to Warwickshire Police’s criminal investigation are a matter for the force to address.”
Warwickshire Police previously said in a statement that the force’s “investigation was into organised crime”.
An inquest was opened last month and heard how the officers got to the address and began to force entry and Mr Fitzgerald ran out the back of the house.
At the five-minute hearing Andrew Beech, a team leader at the IOPC, said its inquiry will look at the “decisions and actions of the police officer who fired the shot”.
It will also investigate the “intelligence and operational planning” before the raid, Mr Beech said.
He told the hearing in Leamington that police went to the house under a Section 8 search warrant.
A huge banner was recently draped over the Coventry Canal Basin bridge over the Ring Road calling for ‘Justice for Sean Fitzgerald.’
The banner was accompanied by a poster with Mr Fitzgerald’s photo and the message: “Sean Fitzgerald unarmed and shot by police. We need answers. Release the truth.”